Lights of Legends
by Wernher von Braun
Summary: With the Golden Age long gone, it is now up to the Guardians and the Ghosts to defend the Last City, the last bastion of humanity. Some, however, decide to go further and seek out the holdouts of humanity that survived the Collapse. When they discover one of them, just like how they defend the people of the City, they shall defend them as well. For that is the duty of Guardians.
1. Welcome Back

**Welcome Back **

"A search parties?" A Titan said in confusion. "Sir, with all due respect…"

"Let's not do that, shall we?" A Hunter beside her said in return. "I am currently having a day-off and I don't want to hear anything stressful."

The Titan rolled her eyes in response. She should have expected it, considering that the Guardian beside her was well-known for his…eccentricity. Then again, that was something that could be said to most – if not all – Guardians.

"Ah, our food is here!" The Hunter said as a waiter arrived with two bowls of ramen. "Let's have a taste first, shall we?"

Both Guardians picked up their respective spoon and tasted the broth first. They then picked up their chopsticks and tasted the noodles after stirring them a bit in the broth. While the Titan merely looked at her ramen, the Hunter was looking at her in amazement.

"You know how to eat ramen properly." He commented. "Most will just immediately eat the noodles or the toppings."

"I like Japanese food. With enough time, you will learn a thing or two about it." She replied before putting down her chopsticks. "So, the job?"

"Ah, right." The Hunter decided to focus on it first. "A Hunter found out that a bunch of Ghosts is acting quite strange. When he told me about it, I become interested and am currently making a team to investigate them."

"Why me though?" The Titan asked as she scratched her head. "That stuff is usually done by Hunters or maybe even Warlocks."

"Well, there are already Hunters and Warlocks that are willing to join. So, I decided, why not get a Titan or two as well to complete the set?"

She stared at the Hunter in front of her with her most deadpanned look. She then rolled her eyes, let out a sigh, before covering her face with both of her hands. She _really _should have expected that coming from him.

"This…better be worth it, _Cayde_." The Titan stated, making sure to emphasize the last word.

"Don't worry. I have just the loot that you're looking for." The Hunter Vanguard, Cayde-6, replied. "You've been looking for it for months in fact."

The Titan froze for a moment before nodding her head. She could feel happiness replacing a little bit of annoyance in her heart. If both Guardians were speaking on the same wavelength, then that meant her search would finally be over and she could search for something else.

"I'll have your word for it, sir." She said before exiting the restaurant.

"Not going to finish your ramen?" The Exo asked before shrugging his shoulders when it was unanswered. It took him a few more seconds before realizing that he would be the one who paid for it. "Damn."

* * *

Currently patrolling near the Asteroid Belt were four dropships of the Guardians. While the asteroid material in the Belt was so thinly distributed that spacecraft could traverse it without incident, one could not be too careful flying in the area known for its debris.

"So, err, does anyone know exactly what we are looking for?" A male Hunter asked.

"Do you sleep during the briefing? We're looking for a bunch of Ghosts acting strange." A female Hunter replied.

"Calm down, you two. Eva, you should have already known how Adam tend to act." A male Warlock chastised them. "Mary, find any sign of them?"

"Negative on my side, Hector." The Titan stated to her superior. "How about your guys?"

"I see asteroid and only asteroid," Adam answered.

"No Ghost except our own," Eva replied.

"Same as you." Hector gave his own.

"Speaking of which, what makes their action considered strange?" Mary's Ghost suddenly said. "We might be able to offer a clue."

"They were spotted flying around the Belt," Eva answered. "You Ghost never go anywhere where there's no corpse, right?"

"Well, not exactly." The Ghost stated. "If you're talking about those who are still looking for their Chosen and not working for the Vanguard, then yeah, their action is kind of strange. Unless they're looking for a space station."

"Did we even have a space station near the Belt?" Adam asked.

"Beats me. Many of our records regarding the location of space installations were lost during the Collapse." Hector explained.

"Isn't building something near the Belt very risky thanks to, you know, asteroids?" Mary wondered.

"Who knows what kind of technology our ancestors have? Maybe they have some kind of shield that…"

"Mary!"

The four Guardians stopped their conversation and focused on the Titan's Ghost.

"What is it, Ahmed?" She asked her companion.

"I detect five Ghosts at eleven o'clock." The Ghost, Ahmed, said.

She looked at the direction that her Ghost pointed to and just as he said, there were five Ghosts flying around, the asteroids making it easy to see them. When they flew further way, the Guardians followed them. Whether they were unaware of them or not, the Ghosts showed no reaction of being followed.

"I hope they don't go somewhere close to the Reef. I don't think we will get the reward if the only thing we could report is 'they go to the Reef.'" Adam commented in a pleading tone.

"Relax, will you? We're far, far away from the Reef." Eva replied. "If I am not wrong, they are on the opposite side of the sun."

When the Ghosts made a turn that caused them to be obstructed by an asteroid, the Guardians obviously made the same turn in the same location. When they did that, they suddenly found themselves flying towards some kind of tunnel made from metal.

"Shit! Evade!" Adam exclaimed.

"No! We're too close!" Hector stopped him immediately.

The Guardians could do nothing but keeping their course as they flew into the tunnel. It turned out to be not the wrong choice as the Ghosts were flying into the tunnel as well. Suddenly, without warning, they increased their speed massively and disappeared from the view.

"Hey, what the hell just – WHOA!"

Adan was unable to finish his sentence as his ship and others received a massive increase in speed as well. Just as sudden as the increase, their ships immediately returned to their normal speed without any warning. Once they exited the tunnel, they decreased the speed of their ships to an almost standstill.

"OK. That. Was. Freaky." Adam commented.

"Everyone, check your ship. Make sure everything is still alright." Hector suggested as he began to perform the checking.

After a minute or two, all of them declared that their ship was in an optimum condition. The Warlock was about to give another order when he noticed something near them. He took a look at the object of interest and was quite dumbfounded by what he saw.

"Guys, is it me or do we suddenly return to Earth?" He asked his fellow Guardians.

Hearing what he said, the other three noticed what he just saw as well. In their views was a planet with a blue surface with some parts that were green and brown, mostly the former. The blue part was, without doubt, the ocean while the green and brown parts were the lands. The planet looked very similar to Earth with the exception of one thing.

"That's not Earth," Mary stated her opinion. "The geography looks nothing like Earth."

"There's also the fact that no presence of the Hive is detected on the Moon." Ahmed suddenly said.

That information caught everyone off-guard. It was well-known that the Moon was off-limits except for the most experienced Guardians due to the heavy presence of the Hive, which once included Crota, Son of Oryx. While he has been assassinated by a team of six Guardians, many still dreaded his name and for good reason.

"Let's check to make sure," Hector suggested though he himself sounded unsure. "Anyone here ever goes to the Moon?"

"Once," Adam replied before grumbling. "Stupid Hive, no respect for human history."

"That should be enough." The Warlock said before flying his ship into the Moon. "Let's move, Guardians."

The ships began to fly around the Moon. At first, they were very careful, flying far above the surface. When they detected no response coming from the natural satellite, they began to fly closer and closer. In the end, the Guardians were practically gliding around the surface of the Moon.

"Yep. No sign of the Hive. At all." Eva commented. "So, that is definitely not Earth and this is definitely not Moon. Just their twins."

"Is that even possible?" Mary asked. "For celestial bodies to have twins?"

"Maybe this is one of the planets that the Traveler terraformed," Adam suggested. "It just so happens to have a satellite that looks like Moon."

"That's…not exactly a stupid hypothesis," Hector commented before he remembered something. "Wait, anyone knows where the Ghosts are?"

Upon hearing that, the ships immediately flew away from the "Moon" and started to search around. After several minutes, the Guardians realized that they have just lost their targets. Adam was the one who got the most depressed.

"Aw, man…" The Hunter said as he slammed his head. "We won't get our loot."

"So, what do we do now?" The Titan of the fireteam asked.

Nobody answered that question.

* * *

Far below the sky, at the surface of the planet that looked very similar to Earth, a Ghost was traveling around the forest. Once in a while, it would stop and scanned the surrounding area before continuing its travel. If one could read the expression of Ghost, they would know that this one was filled with sadness and disappointment.

After a while, it reached a remnant of a village. From the condition of what remained of the buildings, the village was set on fire. The corpses of the villagers – men, women, and children – were scattered all around the settlement, many of them were charred. Something interesting regarding the villagers was that all of the females had tanned skin with many of the adults possessing some kind of tattoo.

The Ghost scanned around the village. Suddenly, it let its shells float around it, exposing its spherical core. It immediately flew to one of the charred ruins. Inside, there was a corpse of a woman with half of her upper body being charred.

"I finally found you." The Ghost said in a deep male voice before letting out an intense light.

* * *

"Guardian… Guardian? Eyes up, Guardian."

Slowly, she opened her eyes. It felt as if she has been sleeping for a long time. She also tried to stand up. It took a lot of effort but in the end, she managed to do so, almost at the same time as when her eyes were opened, letting sunlight entered them once again.

"You're alive!" She turned her eyes towards the strange floating thing in front of her. "You don't know how long I have been looking for you."

"You are…looking for me…?" She said slowly and softly.

"Indeed. Considering the state of your corpse and the surrounding, you've been dead not a long time ago." It said before floating back a little. "That could explain why I am unable to find you until now."

She looked at the thing for a while before looking at her hands. From there, she looked all over her body, finding out that she was wearing some kind of tight suit. She was about to rub her head when she noticed that she was touching something hard. It felt like a horn. She touched the opposite side of her head but found nothing.

"Anyway, we can't stay here for long." The thing suddenly said. "We need to get away from here ASAP!"

"O-Of course." She said as she nodded her head. "Oh, who…or what…are you?"

"I am a Ghost. Or rather, _your _Ghost." The thing, the Ghost, said before suddenly disappear.

"What… Where are you?" She asked as she walked out of the charred building.

"Don't worry, I am still here."

She could hear its voice but not seeing it. However, she could feel…something that indicated that yes, the Ghost was still with her. She shook her head and began to walk. She passed through the corpses and more charred buildings, paying no attention to them whatsoever.

With the exception of one.

She stopped walking upon noticing a woman corpse in front of her. This one took her interest as the corpse had a knife embedded into her back. She approached the corpse, took the knife out, and gave it a swing and a jab. Seeing that it was in good condition, she decided to take it with her.

"Any idea where should we go now?" She asked her Ghost.

"I should take you to the City. However, I am not sure how to take you off this planet and return to Earth." It answered.

"City? Planet? Earth?" It said a lot of things that she didn't understand.

"Kind of hard to explain, especially in the terms that you can…" The Ghost suddenly stopped talking. "Wait, do you hear that?"

She stopped walking and put her hand on her ear. Just as it – no, _he_ – said, there was a sound coming from above. When she looked upward, she saw four flying objects cruising through the sky. Her Ghost suddenly appeared and looked at the objects as well.

"Those are jumpships." He stated before looking at her. "They are our ticket out of here. Come on, let's follow them!"

She merely nodded her head before running towards the direction of the "jumpships." She had many questions that she wanted to ask. Hopefully, this would end with her gaining answers for them.

* * *

"Well, here we are," Mary said as she inspected her auto rifle. "So, now what?"

"Looking for the Ghosts, of course," Hector replied before staring at one of the Hunters. "And how are we going to do that, Adam? This is your idea, after all."

"Simple." He said before pointing his finger. "There's one over there."

The other three Guardians looked at the direction that he pointed at. Just as he said, there was a Ghost moving away from them. As if to prove that it was indeed one of the Ghosts that they were looking for, the Ghosts of the four Guardians materialized.

"…You have…got to be kidding…" Eva stated as she facepalmed.

"Well, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth," Hector stated as he summoned his Sparrow. "Follow the little light."

The other three immediately summoned their own Sparrow before they rode away, following the Ghost.

* * *

After a quarter of an hour, the four of them stopped upon noticing a walled settlement in front of them. It looked like something that humans build during the ancient era. They turned their attention towards the Ghost, who was flying towards the settlement before disappearing.

"I hate it when it does that," Adam commented as he took out a binocular.

His fellow Hunter did the same thing and both of them began to look around. When Eva directed her sight towards the settlement, she froze for several moments before grabbing Adam by the shoulder.

"What is it? You find it?"

"No. But I find out that the settlement belongs to humans."

The male Hunter immediately pointed his binoculars towards the settlement. Just like what Eva said, the settlement belonged to humans, indicated by the guards that patrolled the wall. All of them were armed with a simple spear.

"Do you guys think the Ghost is there?" Mary asked her fellow Guardians.

"Possibly. The settlement that big likely has its own graveyard." Hector said before disembarking from his Sparrow. "Alright, let's approach on foot. Don't want to frighten them."

"Personal experience?" Adam asked as he followed what the Warlock did.

"Let's just say that those who lived far away from the City could develop a certain kind of…superstition."

* * *

It was a good idea to not approach the settlement with their Sparrows. Just seeing the Guardians alone put the guards on high alert. Despite pointing their spears and having a cover, it was clear that they were intimidated by four armored individuals.

"Identify yourself." Said one of the guards.

Hector noticed that while it appeared that they were speaking in the same language, the humans of this planet had developed an accent. A very heavy one.

"Calm yourself, don't worry," Adam said as he raised his hands. "Name's Adam. The one that looked like me is Eva…"

"I am not."

"…the one with the big coat is Hector and the one that looked like she can punch you across the room is Mary."

"What?" Said Titan stated at the Hunter.

"Okay…?" The guard raised his eyebrows. "What business do you have in Wickers?"

"Wickers? That's the name of this settlement?" Adam said before waving his hand. "No matter. We're looking for a…trinket. Yes, a trinket. Usually found in a place where there's a dead boy, like a…graveyard, for example."

The guard slowly looked at Hector while pointing his finger at Adam. The Warlock merely circled his index finger around his ear. The guard nodded in return and seemed to keep a distance between the Hunter and himself. Eva let out a sigh before pushing Adam – who was in the middle of rambling – back.

"We're archeologists. We're looking for an artifact in ancient ruins." She said before pointing at him with her thumb. "So, this idiot is not exactly wrong."

"Archeologists? In armor?" The guard looked skeptical.

"Do you know how dangerous a ruin could be?" Mary retorted, remembering a ruin that turned out to be the Fallen's trap.

"Fair point." He said before giving a sign to the guards on the wall. "You still need to talk with the mayor though."

"Of course." Hector nodded in return.

The gate was opened and the guards escorted the Guardians into the settlement. As they walked towards the town hall, the four of them could see the kind of lifestyle that the humans in the settlement possessed. While it was well-known that humanity suffered a lot after the Collapse, it seemed that the humans in this planet were hit really hard as not even a trace of technology from before the Golden Age existed, like concrete, firearms, etc.

"All in all, they all look well," Adam commented on behalf of the team…maybe.

"Huh?" The guard looked at the Hunter confused before shaking his head. "Err, sure."

Unsurprisingly, the arrival of the Guardians caught the attention of the people in the settlement. People of various ages, from both genders, stopped their activity and looked at them in curiosity.

After a short walk, they finally arrived in the town hall. When the door was opened, they were greeted by an old man sitting behind a desk with a young woman writing something nearby. They were most likely the mayor and his secretary.

"Welcome, all of you." The mayor greeted them as he stood up. "I am the mayor of Wickers."

"A pleasure to meet you, sir." Hector presented himself. "I am Hector, the leader of this team of archeologists."

"I see. I see." He rubbed his beard while nodding his head. "For archeologists, all of you are wearing a very well-made armor. Could you be part of the Order?"

"We are not part of this Order organization for we come from a place far, far away."

"Oh? If so, then…"

_TANG TANG_

Their conversation was cut short when a bell suddenly rang. The people inside could hear a commotion occurred outside of the building. The mayor and the secretary immediately went to the door and opened it. The former then diverted his attention towards the Guardians.

"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, but would any of you be so kind as to let us borrow your strength to defend our humble little village?"

Hector looked at the other Guardians, all of them already preparing their weapons. Most likely even before the mayor asked for their help. The Warlock merely shrugged his shoulders and summoned his shotgun.

"Lead the way, mayor." He said before cocking his firearm.

* * *

"Thanks for the ride, ma'am."

"It's alright dear. I am happy to help. Now if you excuse me, I better return to my husband."

With that, she waved her hand – which was replied – as the half-human, half-horse woman wearing white clothing galloped away. Her Ghost appeared beside her as she looked at the walled settlement. It would take most likely several minutes walking before they arrived.

"It was a blessing that we met such a nice couple." He commented as both of them began to move towards the settlement.

"Indeed. I hope they could have a happy life." She said in return. "Are they still there, by the way?"

"Yep. It's quite dim but I can detect other Ghosts in that settlement." The Ghost replied before looking at her. "I must say, it was really hard to do. After all…"

_BOOOM_

He immediately stopped talking when both of them heard the sound of an explosion. They focused their sight towards the settlement and saw smoke coming from it.

"That's…not good."

* * *

"So, do I need to get my eyes checked or what I see is really what happens?" Adam asked as he scratched his head.

"If you're talking about the tall, tan skinned, bone-tailed, knife eared, single-horned and nearly naked women wielding large swords, axes, spears, and bows attacking us, then I see it as well," Mary replied as she took her aim.

"Some of them are also carrying ladders and I think that's a battering ram," Eva added as she pointed at those women.

"Well, it matters not in the end. They attack us and we will attack them back." Hector stated as he aimed his shotgun. "Jerry, you hear me?"

"Of course." His Ghost, Jerry, suddenly appeared. "Let me guess, music?"

"Something classy, please."

"Hmm… How about…"

_Ah-ah, ah!  
Ah-ah, ah! _

"Good choice." The Warlock commented. "Waste the motherfuckers!"

"Can a woman even be a motherfucker?" Adam asked again, this time it was ignored.

_We come from the land of the ice and snow  
From the midnight sun, where the hot springs flow_

Before, the momentum was on the side of the women. The guards, armed with arrows and bows, tried to hit them but most of them missed. Those who managed to hit were simply plucked out and the wound was healed almost immediately.

Then, the Guardians opened fire.

_The hammer of the gods  
We'll drive our ships to new lands_

Soon, many of them started to fall. Nearly naked, they have no protection against the bullets of the Guardians and their accelerated healing was close to useless against the barrage of gunfire. Those with bows let loose of their arrows towards the Guardians but many of them missed. It became even more useless when Mary created an additional wall to protect the team.

_To fight the horde, and sing and cry  
Valhalla, I am coming!_

When some of them managed to set their ladder and climbed up, Hector immediately walked towards them. When one of them had just arrived on the top, the Warlock performed a spartan kicked, causing them to fall to the ground. He then aimed his shotgun at them and shot.

On the gate, the attackers were trying to breach it using a battering ram. Mary took out a grenade and threw it at their location, killing all of them and destroyed the ram.

_On we sweep with threshing oar  
Our only goal will be the western shore_

Seeing her sisters getting massacred, one of the women gritted her teeth and aimed her bow towards the Guardians. She chanted a prayer and was about to let it loose when a knife suddenly stabbed her back. She let out a scream and missed her shot before falling to the ground.

_Ah-ah, ah!  
Ah-ah, ah!_

The women near her heard it and looked back, seeing their sister has been killed by an individual wearing the same clothes as the Guardians. What stood out the most though was that the killer possessed a horn and a tail just like them.

_We come from the land of the ice and snow  
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow_

"W-What…?!" One of them said in shock. "Why are you…?"

Before she could finish her sentence, the Guardian jabbed her knife into the woman's heart. The other two immediately ran towards her. One of them was wielding an axe and swung it the moment she was within range. The Guardian simply dodged it and stabbed her opponent in the abdomen before slicing it. She then focused on the woman with a sword. But that was proven unnecessary as she was suddenly shot in the head.

"Guardian, we better quickly linked up with others." Her Ghost told her.

She nodded her head and ran towards the wall, ignoring the tanned women that begun to noticed her.

_How soft your fields so green  
Can whisper tales of gore_

"Hey, you're a new one, aren't you?" Adam said towards the Guardian. "Eh, doesn't matter. Consider this a welcoming gift."

He threw a hand cannon towards her, which the latter managed to catch and immediately used against her opponents. Those that came towards her were shot down by not only the Guardians but also the guards who threw everything they had at the attackers.

_Of how we calmed the tides of war  
We are your overlords_

Finally, the morale of the attackers collapsed. They had now been routed, running away from the settlement that they had just tried to attack. The Guardians kept firing at them until the women were out of range for even their guns.

_On we sweep with threshing oar  
Our only goal will be the western shore_

"Too bad. It's over before the song." Hector commented as Jerry stopped the music.

The battle was over. The dead were littering the front gate. The guards, unable to believe that they managed to be victorious, began to cheer in happiness. The Guardians looked at their new sister-in-arms before the Warlock gestured at one of the ladders that the attackers left behind.

Using the ladder, the new Guardian entered the settlement before taking the ladder to prevent the attackers from using it in case they return. She met up with the four of them before they walked away from the wall to the crowd of celebrating people.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" The mayor said in a high voice as he approached them. "Without your help, our village would be no more!"

"Just doing our job," Mary said as she shrugged.

The mayor let out a little laugh before noticing a new addition among the Guardians. Other people soon noticed her as well. One of the guards approached her and looked with amazement.

"I remember you. You came from the back of those Amazonesses, attacking them from the rear." She said as she pointed at her. "Can you…can you show your face?"

The Guardian tilted her head for a while before putting down her hood and her mask disappeared, engulfed by light. Many of the villagers gasped upon seeing her face, unable to believe what they had just seen.

"You…You're an Amazoness…" The guard said in shock. "Yet you help us…why?"

"Amazoness?" The Guardian said before rubbing her face. "Is that who I am?"

They looked at each other in confusion before Adam suddenly said "Aha" and stretched his hand.

"Anyone has a mirror?" The Hunter asked. "I don't think Rani knows how she looks like."

"Rani?" Mary said in confusion.

"What's a 'Rani?'" The Guardian asked.

"Ignore him," Eva said as Adam received a mirror. "However, that is a good name."

"Rani…" She muttered it before accepting the mirror from him. "That is a good name. I am Rani."

"You…You don't remember your name?" One of the people in the crowd, a priest, approached her. "Maybe you were a human rather than a monster since birth. Perhaps something happened when you were monsterized?"

"That not what happened," Hector stated, catching the attention of the crowd. "She was dead before being resurrected by a Ghost."

"You seem to know a lot about her, Sir Hector." The mayor said.

"Of course." He said as he showed his face, a bald human with a rough beard. "We are just like her."

"Especially us, since Rani is a Hunter," Adam said as he took off his mask as well, showing his Exo face.

Eva merely shrugged her shoulders before showing her face, revealing that she wasn't a human as well. An Awoken, to be exact. The people were surprised upon seeing the faces of the Hunters before looking at Mary, who was revealed to be a human.

"Sorry, guys. I only have this boring human face." She said with a teasing smile.

"Erm, no…it's…" The mayor said awkwardly before he coughed a little. "In any case, I believe that 'archaeologists' are not what you ladies and gentlemen are."

"Well, that's somewhat right since sometimes we go into ruins to look for an artifact or two." The Warlock said as he scratched his bald head. "But that's not who we are."

Suddenly, a voice came from the sky. When they looked upward, the villagers saw a jumpship float above them, much to their amazement.

"We're Guardians."

* * *

**And the prologue is done. **

**If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me. **

**Review, please! **


	2. Holy Warriors from the Sky

**Holy Warriors from the Sky**

After the little introduction, the people in charge of Wickers and the Guardians were having a meeting in the town hall while the common people were preparing a celebration. The Light-bearers could see that many of them were curious about them, visitors from the distant world. While it was still in preparation, there were already some food and drink ready to be served for the meeting.

"Oh, cow milk straight from the cow itself," Adam said after taking a sip. "I always want to give it a try."

"He can…" The mayor pointed his finger at the Exo.

"Yes, he can," Hector answered as he looked at his drink. "Exo can do almost anything that humans can do. Eat, drink, sleep, being a dick."

"That's…interesting." He seemed unable to decide what kind of expression to make. "So, you're Guardians and you all come from the sky, coming down here with your…ships?"

"I am not," Rani said as she raised her hand. "First thing I remember is waking up in a charred ruin of a village."

"With the exception of her, you're more or less correct, sir," Hector replied to the mayor. "Us Guardians come from another world that we called Earth. In order to travel from one world to another, we use a transportation called jumpship."

"Speaking of which…" The priest joined in on the conversation. "I am interested in how you said that the Amazoness, Miss Rani over there, was dead before she became a Guardian."

"Indeed." Adam decided to be the one who spoke. "You see before we are Guardians, we were something more…humble. I was rust, Eva was nothing but ashes, and Hector and Mary were skeletons. It is thanks to our Ghosts that we're walking among the living."

On cue, the Ghosts of the Guardians appeared inside the hall. They floated around the room, letting the leaders of Wickers see themselves in their glory. They were amazed by what they saw but none more so than the priest himself, who looked as if he was having a vision.

"By the Chief God…" He said in amazement as he raised his hand. "Can I…?"

"Please be gentle, kind sir," Ahmed stated as he let himself be touched by the priest.

He rubbed the shells of the Ghost carefully, making sure to inspect every inch of them. His eyes stared at the singular eye of the Little Light, not blinking even once.

"Incredible…" He commented as he let Ahmed go.

"What do you see, old friend?" The mayor asked.

"These Ghosts…their bodies are made from metal that I have no knowledge of…" He said before closing his eyes. "But…the most important…holy energy…they contain holy energy!"

"Holy energy? Interesting." Jerry said before floating closer to the priest. "Do you know about the Light? Is that the name that you used?"

"Sir Hector," The mayor asked a question. "These Ghosts…are they made by a god?"

"God…" The Warlock put his hand on his chin. "I guess you can call the Traveler that."

"The Traveler? Is that the name of the god that you worship?"

"There is a small religion that worships the Traveler but the members are a minority," Eva answered. "Most people relationship with it could be described as 'awed,' 'inspired,' 'thankful,' and many more. That's basically what happens when you just appear out of nowhere and doing one good thing after another."

"The Traveler…looks like the Chief God has found a rival in term of kindness." The priest said before letting out a chuckle and shook his head.

_KNOCK KNOCK _

The people in the room turned their attention towards the door. It was soon opened, revealing the secretary of the mayor.

"Excuse me, I am sorry if I interrupt." She said before walking towards the mayor. "The celebration is now ready, sir."

"I see." He replied before looking at the rest of the people in the room. "Well then, ladies and gentlemen, it has been a good conversation. Maya, please take care of the food and drink of our guests."

"Oh, that reminds me." Mary looked down and noticed something was missing. "Hey, where's mine?"

"Mm, this is good."

Slowly, she turned her head towards the Guardian that sat beside her. Adam was currently enjoying the roasted goose that was meant to be for the Titan. There were not only his and Mary's though, but there was also the food that belonged to Eva, who had also noticed its disappearance.

Eva grumbled before standing up and drawing a hand cannon. Before anyone could react, the Hunter aimed it right at the Exo's head and pulled the trigger.

_BANG _

"AAH!"

"WHAT THE…?!"

"OH MY GOD!"

"Really?" Hector stated as he gestured at the panicking villagers. "In here? In front of them? We're not allowed to do that in front of the civilians of the City and they know we could be resurrected."

"That's the third time he stole my food!" The Awoken retorted.

Seeing what happened to its companion, Adam's Ghost did what can be considered rolling an eye back before going over his body and resurrected the Hunter. Slowly, the Exo tried to stand up, supporting himself using the table, while groaning. The villagers had to stop panicking and were now looking at the Guardians.

"I suspect that since death is not permanent, it's not uncommon for Guardians to kill each other?" The mayor asked as he wiped the sweat on his forehead.

"Only during training. Doing that because of a grudge is frowned upon." Hector explained simply. "Most of the time anyway."

"With that in mind, please don't do that in front of us." He stated before looking at his fainting secretary. "Some of us are not exactly strong when it comes to mind."

The Warlock could do nothing except nodding his head while sighing.

* * *

After making sure that her food wouldn't be stolen again, Mary calmly enjoyed her meal, which was pork roasted with some kind of sauce that reminded her of barbeque. A part of her wondered if this was the local version of the famous sauce.

Speaking of local, the Titan noticed that the villagers basically created a distance between themselves and her. She took a little peak and found out the reason. Some of them were awed, few were scared, but most felt that they did not have the right to seat anywhere near her.

Curious, Mary looked at the condition of other Guardians. Hector was currently talking with the mayor and the priest, probably something related with their history, Eva was being surrounded by several children, Adam was walking around for some reason, and Rani seemed to be receiving a lecture from several women.

She wondered what they were telling her.

* * *

"So, do you get what we just said?"

"Not really…" Rani tilted her head. "How would guys get it if you're being subtle? Subtility is mean to be unnoticed, after all."

"If the guy is really interested in you, then he will…" The woman stopped talking due to remembering something. "On second thought, some men could be really daft."

* * *

Probably nothing important or at least something she wouldn't be interested in.

After she finished her food, the Titan cleaned her throat with a mug of cool beer. With her meal done, she decided to take a walk around the village. She only managed to take several steps when a girl suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Is there something wrong, little one?" Mary asked as she crouched so that they see eye to eye.

"Are you a hero, miss?" The girl asked innocently as she pointed at her.

"Me?" She put her hand on her chin. "Well, I have no problem helping people but I like it if I get loot or two after doing that."

"What's a loot?" She tilted her head.

"Something _very _precious." She rubbed her head. "So, no. A hero would want nothing in return."

"I see." The girl put her hands behind her back. "You still save us from the Amazonesses. So, here you go, miss!"

When she showed her hands, the little girl repealed that she was holding a white flower. Mary slowed reached for the flower as she tried to figure out what kind of flower that was presented to her. A dandelion? No, its color was yellow. A tulip? No, the shape didn't look like one.

"Thank you, young one." The Titan said as she looked closely at the flower. "It is a nice flower."

"Yep. My Pa picked it up for me when he returned from…" The girl scratched her head as she made a confused expression. "What was the name of the city again?"

"Haha, well, it matters not." She rubbed the head of the younger female. "It is nevertheless a nice flower."

The little girl put her hands on her mouth and let out a laugh before running away from the Guardian. The latter let out another laugh before walking towards the wall. The guards there greeted there, which she replied. They were taking part in the celebration as well albeit restricted when it comes to the drink; namely, no alcohol.

She looked at the scenery of the wild in front of her; grass as far as eyes can see, mountains at the horizon, the Titan enjoyed every last bit of it. This was not the first time she observed the wild but this time it was different. Out there, there was neither Fallen nor Hive that could threaten the people here, allowing her to be more relaxed. Maybe they were out there, hiding from the locals, but for now, she could at least believe that they were not here.

She stopped her thought when she noticed something in the distance. The Titan materialized a binocular and looked at the location. She moved her head as if trying to keep her eyes on something. She put it away from her eyes before letting out a sigh.

"Looks like our job is not done yet," Mary commented, causing other guards to look at her in confusion.

* * *

In a field that was used by the village guards to honed their skills, Hector watched from the sideline as Mary taught Rani about proper hand-to-hand combat. The location was currently off-limits for most of the population due to how intense the training was; the Titan managed to kill the Hunter five times.

"That's six," Hector said as he saw Mary breaking the neck of her opponent.

The purpose of the training was two things; the first was obvious, no need to guess, and the second was to make Rani being used to being killed and then revived. The first few deaths were always the most shocking. After that, well…some Guardians considered jumping from the Tower a recreational activity.

Putting that aside for a moment, the Warlock wondered how her mission went by.

* * *

It was not a challenge to find their settlement. The mayor had told her that the Amazonesses built theirs inside a forest. There was only one, several miles away from Wickers. It became even easier since there was a river inside as well. People tend to build a living place close to the water source due to how vital it was.

From her position, through the scope of her rifle, Eva could observe the settlement of the Amazonesses without any obstruction. It was even more primitive compared to the village where the local humans lived. Every building was made from wood with the doors being a single sheet made from the same fabric as their clothes. There was also an altar that was used for…

"Eww…" The Awoken commented as she put the scope away from her eye. "I am pretty sure even ancient barbarians didn't do that."

"I guess that's where the term 'get a room' comes from." Her Ghost stated.

"Good theory, Angel."

Taking her attention away from the altar, the Hunter finally found what she was looking for; a group of Amazonesses currently making something from woods and ropes. She didn't need to wait for them to finish since there was already a finished product near them.

"Bingo!" She looked towards the three Amazonesses lying near her. "You girls really are stubborn bitches, huh?"

They didn't answer her question. It was impossible since their throats have been slit open. Not even a single drop of blood dripped from their wounds.

"Well, time to go back and make our report," Eva stated as she evacuated her scouting position.

* * *

"I see." Hector nodded his head while his arms were folded. "Is there another settlement nearby?"

"No, Sir Hector. Our home is the only one in the region." The mayor answered as he shook his head. "I should have known that the Amazonesses wouldn't give up."

"I don't understand." Rani scratched her head. "Why are they so insisted on attacking this place? They should have known how impossible it would be to succeed with us here."

"Because of your species…" The priest suddenly closed his mouth and put his hand on his chin. "Wait, are you still the same species as them considering your holy energy?"

The youngest Guardian of the group looked at the Titan, who merely shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, Eva is an Awoken and Hector and I consider ourselves human, so…"

"Right." The priest nodded his head. "Anyway, the Amazonesses – every single one of them – desire a husband, which to be honest is simply their fancy name for the slave, which they can only gain by raiding human settlement."

"Why don't they ask a male human to date then?" Rani asked innocently.

"The Order forbids that." He shook his head. "Besides, I don't think they know the concept of 'dating' exists since I have also heard their kind attacking monster-friendly settlements."

"There's a monster-friendly settlement?" The Warlock raised an eyebrow. "That's like humans living together with the Hive."

"I don't know what a Hive is, but depending on the accepted monsters, one is either just a normal settlement or is filled with people too stupid that they all better die to prevent the spread of their idiocy." The priest grumbled a little. "Goddamn stupid, all of them. Even with friendly monsters, you have to be careful with them. And they decide to accept the dangerous ones."

"Ah, yes. Those Weresheep…" The mayor said as he shook his head. "Anyway, we have a problem coming and we should take care of it."

"It's quite straightforward if you ask me," Mary stated. "We simply manned the wall and repel them again."

"That's only a band-aid for the problem, though," Hector said in return. "We can't stay here forever and we won't leave the people here in danger. We Guardians are not the best protectors but we have standards."

"So, we go there and destroy the Amazoness settlement?" Rani suggested.

"It will be too risky." The mayor retorted. "I once part of a regiment tasked to do that. We succeed but more than half of our guys didn't return."

"In any case, Mary has a point." Eva finally joined in. "First thing first, we repel the Amazonesses. Then we figure out the next step."

"She's right." The priest agreed. "I shall pray to the Chief God and Ares for their support in the upcoming battle."

"We're going to need every help that we can get." The mayor stated. "Speaking of which, where's Sir Adam?"

"I sent him back to Earth to give a report. He should be back tomorrow." Hector answered.

"Oh, man. You've got to be kidding me!" Eva started to groan. "The attack will most likely happen tomorrow."

"Isn't that a good thing, then?" The mayor was confused by the reaction.

"Do you know how insufferable he could be when he finds out that he's the cavalry?"

The mayor raised his eyebrows before letting out a laugh as if remembering something funny, and not helping Eva in the slightest.

* * *

The next day finally came. Just as predicted, they enacted another attack.

Already positioning themselves at the walls, they observed the Amazonesses. The latter were bringing more weapons, siege equipment, and warriors with them. The guards of Wickers were feeling tense, knowing that a battle was about to begin. The Guardians, on the other hand, felt relaxed. One of them was actually somewhat eager.

"So, I heard from Adam that you can get loot from a battle," Rani stated. "Does that…"

"Nope, no loot from them, unfortunately. Nothing worthy, at least." Eva destroyed her hope. "You need to fight opponents at the same level as us, like the Fallen or the Hive."

"Aww…"

The Amazonesses stopped several yards away from the walls. Some of them looked cautious upon seeing the Guardians. One of them, an Amazoness who was wearing a fur coat of a wolf on her shoulders and had a claymore in her hand, walked forward. It was almost obvious what her role was in their group.

"Humans, I am Riza, the leader of the Evergreen Claw Tribe! Yesterday, some of our sisters went to you, looking for husbands, only to return with the news of death and misery! They spoke of warriors with unimaginable skills and destructive weapons never seen before!" She made the declaration before pointing her sword. "I demand you to show us those warriors!"

"No need to make a demand, young lady," Hector replied before pointing his team with his thumb. "We're here."

"And since we're here, how about you spare us your breath and let's just get to the action?" Rani added.

"Ha, I like your flame, warrior," Riza said as she smiled arrogantly. "If you surrender…"

"Ugh, chit-chat." She made a speaking motion with her hand.

"If you…"

"Chitty Chitty chat."

"If…"

"Chat chat chat."

"You really are…" She took a step forward, anger burning inside her before she suddenly squinted her eyes. "Wait… Our sisters also spoke of a backstabber. You, warrior, possess a horn that is only possessed by us."

Rani simply showed her face to Riza, smiling mockingly. The latter gritted her teeth, the hand holding her sword was trembling.

"You…" The Amazoness leader said the word slowly. "Traitor…"

"Yep, me. Name's Rani, by the way." The Hunter replied as she twirled her hand cannon. "Also, for your information, I am not part of your tribe. Which means I am not a traitor."

"It matters not!" She roared. "As fellow Amazoness, you should have helped your sisters in gaining love! Especially with the charm on your cheek, indicating that…"

"Lady, I don't even know you." She interrupted her. "I am an Amazoness but none of you are my sister. I am also a Guardian and just like these Guardians – my _real _siblings-in-arms – I will defend this village with my life."

"I see you have made your choice." Riza pointed her sword at the walls. "You – all of you – will regret refusing the mercy that we are willing to give in spite of your sins!"

"If that's the case, Riza…" The Warlock cocked his machine gun. "Come and get us!"

"ATTACK!"

"Shall I play one, partner?" Jerry asked.

"Nah, for this one, let the sounds of guns and their lamentation be the music."

As the Amazonesses ran towards the walls and the Guardians opened fire, Mary jumped down into the gate and erected a Towering Barricade in front of the gate. After giving the extra defense, she used her Jump Ability to went back to the walls and joined the others.

Just like during the previous attack, the Amazonesses were shot down by the firepower of the Guardians. The arrows fired by the guards also missed many times but this time, they were more effective; because they were more of them, the missing arrows disrupted their formation, causing them to slow down. Any battering ram that managed to get close would taste the power of Grenade.

"You know, most people would decide that with failure like this, they would try to change tactic," Eva commented.

"Well, to be fair – hold!" Mary went towards a ladder that the Amazoness had just set and pushed it off, causing those on it to scream. "Remember the Dregs?"

"I have heard that they are basically forced. So, they are excusable."

"Hey, does anyone has a better weapon than this? I can't hit their leader!" Rani asked as she kept firing. "What's her name again?"

True to her words, every shot that she took missed Riza. Whether it was to the head or abdomen, none of them seemed to be able to hit the Amazoness leader.

"I don't think it would change much. She's simply really good at dodging." Eva replied before trying to make a shot as well. "_Really _good."

"Wait until she's closer. Until then, take out other attackers." Hector suggested as he reloaded his machine gun.

"I guess you're…" The Hunter stopped talking when she noticed something. "Um, guys, you might want to see her."

The other Guardians did as they were told. They saw the Amazoness leader was bathed in light. Seeing that, they focused their shots towards her, who for some reason remained stand still. To their surprise, the bullets simply bounced off her skin.

"Shit! They have a shield?" Hector cursed before aiming back at her.

"No." Mary grabbed the machine gun. "I'll deal with her. Make sure no one pass through the walls."

The Titan switched her auto rifle and was now grabbing a sword. It was no ordinary sword though for it was an Exotic Weapon; a Bolt-Caster, one that she gained after finishing a quest from Lord Shaxx of the Crucible.

She jumped off the walls, managing to stab one of the Amazonesses upon landing. She then dashed towards Riza, cutting down any Amazoness that stood in her way. Others tried to help their leader but were shot by the Guardians. As the events went on, one of the battering rams managed to reach the Barricade, only for the crew to find it ineffective against the barrier made by Mary.

A duel occurred between the leader of the tribe of the Amazoness and the protector of the Last Safe City. The sheer intensity of the fight was enough to convince other Amazonesses to focus on the walls instead. The two of them were alone, despite being in the middle of a battle, exchanging blow one after another.

"Give it up, warrior!" Riza exclaimed as she blocked an attack. "I have received the blessing of the War God Ares herself! Your fate has been sealed!"

"Hah, that's it?" Mary retorted as she dodged an attack. "Crota, Son of Oryx, the God-Knight, the Hope-Eater, was slain by our hands. You are nothing compared to him!"

"Who are you talking about?"

"Someone you will never know."

Back in the walls, the situation was looking dire. Seeing the empowered Riza demoralized many of the guards. Furthermore, a large number of Amazonesses managed to reach the walls in spite of the heavy casualties that they suffered and began to put the use of their ladders.

One person had a solution.

"Well, I guess it's my time to shine," Hector stated as he put away his machine gun, leaving his hands empty. "Everyone, take cover!"

The Warlock glided down towards the walls. He then unleashed a shockwave, causing him to wound or kill the Amazonesses near him and his body to float, engulfed by lightning. From his hands, he shot lighting after lightning towards the attackers that tried to climb the walls, each of them spreads from one person to another. He then focused his attention on other Amazonesses.

When he was done and returned back to the walls, many Amazonesses had been disintegrated by the lightning. How many of them, nobody would ever know. This time, they were the ones who were demoralized while the humans cheered.

"Do you see that?" Mary asked her opponent, who was frozen at seeing the nasty deaths of her sisters. "Now look at me; someone who manages to fight you on even ground, despite you having a blessing from your god. There's only one of you, and four of us."

"Don't forget about me."

Upon hearing the voice on their communication, which was then followed by a sound coming from the sky, the Guardians looked upward, seeing the familiar shape of a jumpship. It fired its laser guns, managing to kill several unprepared Amazonesses.

"Making another run!"

"So, what will you do?" The Titan asked – no, _demanded _– an answer from her.

Riza looked away from the ship and set her eyes on her fellow Amazonesses. She could see it in their eyes and their spirits have been broken. The deaths of many of their sisters had finally affected them. It was clear that victory had escaped from their grasp. She closed her eyes, hands trembling as she knew what they must do.

"Fall back. Everyone, fall back." She said, her voice was empty of arrogance that she had before the battle.

They looked at their leader. None of them raised a voice against her. Despair had clouded their minds. The ones who brought siege equipment dropped theirs and begun to walk back towards their home. They were soon followed by others. In the end, all of the attackers were in full retreat, with Riza still standing in front of Mary.

"Good job, Adam. We won." She told him.

"Really? Man, am I awesome or what?" He said.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" The Guardian turned her attention towards the Amazoness leader. "Go home. Never attack us again."

The woman with tanned skin lowered her head. The Titan couldn't help but wonder whether she was about to cry. Riza then dropped her claymore and her coat as well. She raised her head, showing her eyes – full of emptiness – before walking away, joining her tribe.

* * *

There was no celebration in the aftermath. The people of Wickers were depressed. The guards that participated in the battle simply sat down on the street; no energy left within them. The civilians simply continued their activities but with a lot more less spirit.

"Hey, what's with the long faces? We won!" Adam stated upon seeing them. "Like, I don't say we need a celebration or two – thought that would be nice – but come on, we won. We will live for another day."

"Leave them alone, sir Adam." The priest approached him; his tone somber. "A bleak revelation has occurred today."

"Does it have something to do with the Amazoness leader?" Hector asked him.

"Indeed." He nodded his head. "Just like how you are blessed by the Traveler, she is blessed by…_Ares_."

"I see. So, the enemies really do have a god on their side." Mary commented as she put her hand on her chin. "I guess we can add the Amazonesses alongside the Hive for having deities."

"That's not supposed to happen." His tone was higher. "The Amazonesses attacked us, people, weaker than them, with the intention of turning the males into slaves and the females into people like them! They deserve none of Ares' blessing! It should be us, people who try to protect our beloved ones, who get it!"

"Betrayal, huh? That explains a lot." Eva said.

"Oh, that doesn't even begin to describe it." The priest let out a humorless laugh.

"Well, in any case, all of them need to pack up," Adam said as he pointed his thumb to the sky. "They're here."

From the sky, several ships made their way to Wickers. They were bigger compared to the jumpships of the Guardians and were also more heavily armed, each of them possessing missiles and a Gatling gun. The Guardians immediately recognized the aircraft; the VTOL Hawks used by the City to carry people and cargo.

"Hawks?" Hector said in confusion before nodding his head. "I see. That's our solution."

"What is it?" The priest asked.

"We're going to evacuate the people of Wickers and bring them back to the City."

"W-What?"

"I have heard it from older people," Adam explained. "They said that there was a plan to evacuate the village but was scrapped when the Amazonesses moved in."

"Ah, yes. I remember that plan. It was a long time ago, though. Most of the people here grew up with this village being their home. I don't know if…"

"This is the best solution we could think of." The Hunter stated. "We can't protect this place forever. There are many other threats out there, planning the destruction of humanity. If we went, what's stopping the Amazonesses or even others to attack this place?"

Silence fell upon the group. The priest was thinking deeply about the information that he had just received. The people who heard about their conversation were now talking to each other, discussing the possibility of leaving their home for good. The Guardians meanwhile patiently waited for the response.

"This…is going to be a lot to take…" The priest mumbled softly. "I hope that the drivers of your 'Hawks' are willing to wait."

"Don't worry. I bring them also for extra firepower, just in case." Adam replied.

* * *

As it turned out, it took only an hour for the rulers of the village to make the decision; they would evacuate Wickers with the help of the Guardians.

Everyone was busy. They packed only the most essentials like clothes, food, and water though they also brought a little trinket or two to reminded them of their home. The farmers and ranchers went to the field, escorted by the Guardians, to cull most of their livestock and burned it alongside their plants. The priest went to the church, praying to the Chief God for a safe journey, before packing his belongings and closing his church for good.

"So, how's the situation?" Hector asked the two veteran Hunters while watching the locals putting their belongings into the Hawks.

"We should encounter no problem," Eva stated. "The Amazonesses are busy wailing for their losses."

"I don't even think they have enough adults to launch another attack," Adam added. "The patrol that we encountered are younger compared to the attackers."

"That's good to hear." The Warlock then noticed the mayor was walking towards him. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, everything's alright. It's just that…" He let out a sigh and stared at the village that he had led for years. "It's going to be a sad affair indeed."

"I understand what you mean." He said in sympathy. "When I was resurrected to become a Guardian, I found myself guarding a small settlement before we went to the Last City. Had to abandon it since the Fallen was slowly taking over the area."

"You know, one of these days, you have to tell me the story of your exploit."

"Well, I know this bar that serves good drinks. The snack is also not too bad."

"Good to hear." He then gave the Guardian a solemn look. "I have a request for you, Sir Hector. When we finally fly to the City, I want you to burn down Wickers."

"Excuse me?"

"Give our beloved home a funeral. When we are gone, no monster shall use it to harm others."

The Warlock merely nodded his head.

* * *

As fire ravaged the now abandoned village, the Guardians went to their jumpships and joined in with the Hawks. Rani, not having her own yet, already left with the locals. From their ship, they could see the smoke rising high into the sky.

From the distance, observers – whether they were human or monster – could see the smoke from the horizon. The news would spread over the destruction of the settlement. Many would wonder of the fate of the populace for no sign of their death could be found. There was not even a clue about where they had gone.

* * *

She had to admit that she was surprised to the point that she could feel her heart almost jumped out of her chest. One moment, she was inside a Hawk alongside the former population of Wickers. The next, she suddenly found herself standing on a tower overlooking the city.

"Welcome to the Last Safe City, Rani." Her Ghost said as he appeared next to her. "The only place the Traveler can still protect."

She focused her eyes on the "moon" that was very close to the City. It looked smoother compared to the moon that she usually saw. She could also feel that this "moon" was no ordinary rock in the sky.

"Is that…the Traveler?" She asked as she pointed at it.

"Correct." She turned herself to look at what was behind her. "And this Tower is where the Guardians live."

She saw other Guardians interacting with each other and several Ghosts flying nearby. She then noticed that one of them was approaching her. She recognized the Guardian immediately for she had been her first partner.

"Mary?" She said.

"Good to see you as well, Rani." The Titan greeted her. "So, how do you find the City and the Tower?"

"It's…" The Hunter was struggling to find the right word. "Overwhelming. Where's Hector, Eva, and Adam?"

"Hector is currently reporting the results of our mission to Cayde, the Vanguard of the Hunter. Eva is with the people of Wickers. Adam…he jumped off the Tower."

Silence fell upon them as the tanned woman tried to comprehend the fact that her fellow Hunter decided to jump off to his death. She had been told to expect bizarre attitude from other Guardians, especially since she might develop one herself. She still found it hard to comprehend.

"Anyway, it's already midnight," Mary stated before walking away. "So, let's find yourself a room."

"Should I like, I don't know, report to our superiors about my arrival?" Rani asked as she followed her soon.

"Hector would handle it. Besides, we can do it the next morning."

With that, the two Guardians left the Tower Watch, intending to find a place for the newest Guardian to live.

* * *

**And the chapter is done. **

**If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me. **

**Review, please! **


	3. An Urban Life

**An Urban Life**

Inside one of the rooms, located in the part of the Tower that was basically an apartment for the Guardians, one of their newest members was sleeping soundly. Gone was the Hunter outfit that she had worn for days, replaced with only a white tank-top and light blue hot pants. Her Ghost suddenly appeared near her before gently snuggling his companion's head.

"Wake up, Rani." He said as he continued snuggling. "You have an appointment with Mary."

The Guardian grabbed the Ghost and threw him away, who simply stopped midway. Grumbling, she slowly woke up while rubbing her right eye. After doing nothing but sitting on her bed for several minutes, she stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

It was quite small and minimalist. There were only a sink and a mirror, a toilet, and a shower. After taking off her sleepwear, the Hunter stepped into the shower and took a bath. It took a while as she was never in one before and was experimenting on the hot and cold water. There was also another reason for it.

"Huh?" Rani stopped for a while to observe the body paint that decorated her body, creating some sort of runes. She decided to not think further about it and cleaned it off with the help of warm water and soap.

She then went towards the sink to clean her mouth and teeth and also drying her hair. Satisfied, she went out of the bathroom while drying her body with a towel.

* * *

In the Tower Watch, Mary was sitting on the edge of the building. It was a dangerous activity for it wouldn't take much for her to lose her balance and fall from the Tower. Since she was a Guardian though, that wouldn't bother her too much. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time she fell from the building, either deliberately or accidentally.

"I am here."

The Titan turned her head and saw Rani standing a few feet away from her. Smiling, she changed her position so that now her feet were on the floor of the Tower.

"Alright. So, you're ready to take the tour?" Mary asked as she spread her arms. "We're going to visit a lot of places. From other parts of the Tower to the districts of the City."

"I do." She nodded her head. "But shouldn't we visit our superiors first? Reporting about my arrival?"

"Already done. If you want, you can visit Cayde to get some starter equipment but I don't think it would be necessary."

"Maybe I'll just visit him later. Can't say no to free equipment."

"That's the spirit! Now, first thing first, we should…"

"Homerun!"

Both Guardians turned their attention towards the voice before Mary suddenly got hit by a baseball in the head. She lost her balance and – despite her best – was falling from the Tower. Rani's eyes went wide before they immediately shrunk back. Remembering that the Titan would simply be revived, the Hunter let out a sigh before taking a seat, waiting for her to return.

"_I really need to get used to it._"

* * *

After being revived, Mary went towards the cafeteria with Rani following her. When they reached the room, they saw that it was still mostly empty with only a few Guardians and the staffs inside. The Titan immediately took a tray and went towards the stand, an act that was followed by the Hunter.

"So, what kind of breakfast you want?" She asked the newbie.

"Umm… How many is the choice?" The Amazoness asked back.

"Oh, there's a lot. There is Western and Eastern cuisine. There's also African cuisine but it's quite rare, not available every day." The human was ready to give a long explanation. "For the Western, there are American and European. For the American, there are…"

"I'll just take whatever you take." She didn't want to listen to a _long _discourse.

"Suit yourself." She turned her attention to the staff. "Lewis, a plate of pancake, chocolate milk, and a small bowl of berries. Same thing for her."

After the two of them received their breakfast, they went towards one of the tables. It was just in time as dozens of Guardians begun to enter the cafeteria. With how long the line that they formed, it was a good thing that both of them arrived first or else they would have to wait for quite a time, wasting precious time.

"All of them are Guardians," Rani commented as she stared at her pile of pancakes. "Is this cafeteria reserved for us?"

"Unofficially," Mary answered as she cut her pancake. "After a food fight occurred, normal people decided to just eat in another one."

"All because of a food fight?" The dark-skinned woman tasted the berries.

"Oh, trust me. Us Guardians can be vicious."

* * *

After having a hearty breakfast, the pair of Guardians went towards the Tower Hangar. They could see several jumpships and Hawks being repaired by the mechanics. Despite the commotion that was being made, none of it disturb them in the slightest. They focused on walking towards a certain shipwright that could help them.

"…and make sure that it's in the right position _this time_!" A blonde shipwright said that loudly to a rather young mechanic, who immediately went towards a currently-in-repair jumpship.

"Another problem?" The Titan asked as they approached her.

"Different day, same shit." She replied as she turned her attention towards them. "Anything I can help you with, Mary?"

"New Guardian." She pointed at the Hunter with her thumb.

"I see." She went towards a table and picked up a catalog. "Name's Amanda Holliday. Any problem regarding your ship, I can take care of it."

"Rani." The Amazoness introduced herself as she accepted the book. "What's this?"

"Catalogue of jumpship available for new Guardians." The shipwright explained. "Guardians do mission in not only Earth but also other planets and satellites. Places that require a ship to travel to."

She nodded her head as she opened the catalog. She could see several pictures of jumpship alongside their detailed description. Very detailed to the point of occupying an entire page. Each ship had two pages; one for the picture and one for the description. When she saw the prices of the ships, her eyes became wide.

"I…I…" Rani closed the catalog as she let out a sigh. "Maybe next time. As of now, I…"

"Just put it on your tab. That's how most Guardians get their first ship." Amanda stated nonchalantly.

"Most? Is there another way?"

"I won't suggest it. It requires you going outside of the City, searching for a jumpship that is still functional, and returning here with it intact." The shipwright shook her head. "Last Guardian who did it had to fight an Archon."

Confused by the meaning of her words, the Hunter turned her sight towards Mary for a reference.

"A high priest of the Fallen. You can say they're a high-ranking officer." The Titan explained before shaking her head. "Not someone I would recommend a rookie to fight against."

"How powerful?"

"My last fight against one resulted in being killed twice before running away."

Rani nodded her head as she opened the catalog once more. She flipped through the pages several times before finally making an option. She gave Amanda the book made, opened at the pages of her choosing.

"Phaeton Class v2, huh?" She commented as she read the description. "A good choice. Not bad at all."

"So, when will it be ready?" Rani asked.

"Just get back here when you received your first mission. I guarantee you."

"With that taken care of…" Mary went closer to the Hunter and grabbed her by the shoulder. "…now the tour has officially begun."

* * *

The Last City. Also known as the Last Safe City. If one was being honest, they would admit that the name sounded quite pessimistic. An indicator of how far humanity has fallen. Once the owner of the solar system, now not even their own home planet belonged to them. All that was left was the City under the protection of the Traveler and scattered settlements.

Despite that, nothing in the City showed that fact. Children still playing on the street. Markets full of people selling and buying various goods. Cars, motors, bicycles, and other types of vehicles not being a rare sight. All in all, everyone acted as if their existence was not one barrier away from perishing.

"Surprised, huh?" Mary said towards her friend. "It's not always like this. There were times when the name of the Last City is a lot more appropriate."

"The way you speak about those times…" Rani was now curious. "How long has it been since you were resurrected?"

"A long time. I don't remember exactly how long." She spoke in a nostalgic tone. "I remember that when I arrived in the City for the first time, it was still being built. There was more tent than building during that time."

The Hunter stared at her friend and senior, standing silently as she remembered events of who-knows-how-long ago. She then shook her head before looking at the dark-skinned woman.

"Whoa, why are we talking about that?" The Titan made a smile. "This is not the time to feel melancholy. This is the time to have fun!"

"I agree with you." She replied the smile. "So, any place that you can recommend?"

"Well, to be honest…" Mary looked rather embarrassed. "There's this place that I want to visit first. I am not sure if you can call the place fun but…"

"Let's visit it first then. Better than having you distracted along the tour."

* * *

The two of them were now standing in front of a three-story building. On the front yard was a flagpole flying a flag, red being the color of the background and white triangle with three bars of the same color as the background inside the triangular shape.

"What building is this?" The Amazoness asked curiously.

"One of the offices of New Monarchy, a member of the Consensus." The human answered the question. "The Consensus itself is the ruling body of the City."

"Are you a member of New Monarchy?"

"To be more precise, I am one of the Guardians that represent them in the Crucible." Mary showed the left shoulder part of her armor, where there was the same emblem as the one on the office's flag. "As for the Crucible itself, I'll show you later."

Both Guardians entered the office. There were many signs of opulence in the lobby, like the red carpet, the shade of the color used for the walls, the chairs, and sofas provided for the guests, and many more. The name "New Monarchy" fit the faction in more way than one.

"Go ahead and take a seat," Mary said as she gestured at the chairs and sofas. "I won't be long."

Rani went towards one of the chairs and took a seat. Two other people were sitting in the same place as her; an Exo Hunter and a human in a business suit. Seeing the latter reading a newspaper, she looked around for a while before setting her eyes on the newspaper stand. The Amazoness went to pick up one of them before returning to her chair.

There wasn't anything interesting in her opinion. Though it could be simply because the Hunter had no idea regarding the topics that the newspaper discussed thanks to not being from Earth and only recently resurrected. Perhaps she could ask Mary after she was done on why a brawl between the representatives of Dead Orbit and Future War Cult was on the front page.

"Yep, everything's done." The Titan stated as she approached her. "Come, Rani. Let's continue the tour."

"What business do you have here?" The Hunter asked as she put back the newspaper.

"Each faction offered equipment exclusive to Guardians who represent them," Mary answered as both of them exited the building. "I was checking whether there's something new."

"So, if I want the loot that you checked earlier, I must join New Monarchy?"

"That and having a good reputation. Every mission that you do as a member of New Monarchy will increase your reputation with them."

As they walked on the street, the dark-skinned woman put her hand on her chin, evaluating the information that she had just received. Knowing what was in her head, the older Guardian opened her mouth.

"Despite being their member, I will suggest that before joining New Monarchy, you should check the other two major factions; Dead Orbit and Future War Cult."

"Huh, that explains why the brawl of their representatives is on the front page."

"It rarely goes that far but there is a heated rivalry between those three."

* * *

Rani didn't know what to think when she set her foot in. A store that sells books and only book was not something that she found strange but she never saw the kind of book that this store sold before. Every page was filled with pictures. It told a story through not only words but also pictures.

"Find one that took your fancy?"

The Hunter turned her eyes towards the cashier and likely the owner of the bookstore as well. She was a rather chubby woman in her 40's with glasses and very…colorful afro hair. A part of her wondered if that was real hair or merely a wig.

"Not…really," Rani said as she put the book back in the shelf. "I am not familiar with…the stories."

"That's what all my regulars said the first time they're here." The cashier let out a little laugh. "Just look around, dear. I am sure you can find something that you like in our store."

She nodded her head as she began to walk around, trying to find a certain violet-haired woman. After a while, she saw her staring intensely at a shelf. She walked to her side and – seeing that the Titan didn't notice her – looked curiously at it as well.

"Something's wrong?" The Hunter asked, causing her friend to look at her as her eyes became wide in surprise.

"Oh, nothing. Just having a problem choosing." Mary replied before returning her eyes to the books. "What about you?"

"Any suggestion?" She asked back. "I am not familiar with any of this."

"I have some." She bent a little to pick up a basket that was on the floor. "There's Superman, one of the most iconic comic characters. There's also Batman who is Superman's…BFF, I guess? They have good chemistry but also can be quite a foil to each other. And who can't forget the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man? A…unique favorite of mine is also an option."

Rani took a look at the books – which were called comics apparently – and raised an eyebrow. On the covers of the comics were pictures of the characters that Mary had just stated. They wore…quite an interesting outfit (is that underwear being worn outside?) with the exception one; a big bare-chested red man wearing a long coat and jeans.

"Hellboy?" She said in curiosity.

"Not exactly the most popular character but I kind of like him." The Titan replied as she scratched her head.

The Hunter merely nodded her head in return. After staring the comics for a while, she shrugged and went towards the cashier.

"I think I'll give them a try." She stated.

After paying for the comics, the two Guardians went towards the door and exited the shop.

"Don't forget to come back to Marvelous DC!" The cashier told them on their way out.

"So, where shall we go next?" Rani asked.

"Want to visit the people of Wickers?" Mary suggested. "We could use the bus."

"Sounds good."

The two of them went to the bus stop. As they waited, the Guardians read the comics that they had just recently bought. When the bus finally arrived, a double-decker one, they walked into it and sat on the upper decker. A few seconds later, the bus continued its journey.

* * *

Utilitarian. That was the word that could be used to describe the living quarter for the most recent residence of the City. When they came for the first time, often penniless, they would be placed in the part of the City reserved for them. They would then find a job, slowly but steadily improve their conditions, and moved to the better part of the City.

It took a while due to how vast the quarter was but the two Guardians finally reached the houses where the former people of Wickers currently lived in. It appeared that they have been introduced to some of the cultures in the City, considering how some of them were wearing currently-fashionable clothes and the children were playing football.

One of the children kicked the ball in the wrong direction, causing it to roll towards the Guardians. Mary stepped forward and stopped the ball with her right foot. She kicked it upward to her chest and then used her chest to tossed the ball into her head before sending it back to the children with her head.

"Look, it's Miss Mary and Miss Rani!" One of the kids shouted as he pointed his finger at them.

Soon enough, they abandoned their game and ran towards the Guardians. While the Hunter was feeling uncomfortable being surrounded by them, the Titan happily chatted with them, even to the point of picking one up and moved her around like an airplane.

"Whee!" The girl stretched her arms. "I am flying!"

Upon hearing the sound of someone clapping, the children diverted their attention towards it, seeing a woman approaching her. They immediately went towards her with the girl being the latest due to Mary needing to put her down first.

"I am sorry about that, Miss Mary, Miss Rani." The woman stated.

"It's alright. They are good reminders on why we Guardians exist." She replied. "So, how are you and others?"

"We're doing…quite well, I suppose. There is still a lot that we need to get used to, like the bathroom, the electricity, and well…"

The woman turned her head to look at something. When the pair turned their heads in the same direction, they were now looking at the Traveler, hanging motionlessly above the City.

"The Traveler…" Rani commented.

"Yeah. When you guys told us about your god, the Traveler, we expected many things." The woman gestured at it. "Seeing the Traveler with our own eyes is not one of them."

"Yes. The Last City was built in the place that the Traveler could protect." Mary stated as she nodded her head. "The most protected place on Earth."

"In any case, it could explain why the food here is…fresher compared to ours. It's directly blessed by a god." The woman replied before letting out a little laugh. "And giving our priest and sisters…faith overload, for the lack of better word."

The two Guardians joined in on the laugh before their Ghosts suddenly materialized.

"Is there something wrong, Ahmed?" The Titan asked her faithful companion.

"You're being called back to the Tower." He answered. "The Vanguards have summoned you."

"Both of you." The other Ghost added in.

"I see. Tell them we're on our way." Mary stated before looking at the woman. "Sorry about that. We need to end our meeting here."

"No, no. It's alright. Our talk is not even a quarter as worthy as your job." She replied. "Good luck, Guardians."

"You too as well," Rani said back before the two of them walk away, heading towards the Tower. "You know, Ghost, I just realize that I haven't given you a name."

"It is normal. Not every Guardian give their Ghost one." Said Ghost replied.

"I know. It's just…just give me a time, OK? I'll think of a good name."

"I will wait for that."

* * *

When they entered the Hall of Guardians, they saw the Vanguards – Commander Zavala, Ikora Rey, and Cayde-6 – were waiting for them. Alongside them were Hector, Eva, Adam, and one person that they did not expect.

"They're here." The former mayor of Wickers informed others in the room of the arrival of the Guardians.

"Good." Zavala nodded his head. "You're ready?"

"Of course. I, Johnny Seeley, shall help the Guardians in their endeavor."

"So, what are we doing here?" Mary asked others.

"To put it simply, we need a plan. A plan to rescue the people from twin Earth." Cayde answered the question. "We managed to rediscover one of our lost colonies. Why couldn't the Fallen, the Hive, the Cabal, and the Vex do the same thing?"

"So many want us dead…" The mayor, Seeley, commented.

"Sounds very simple to me. We just need an armada of Hawks to transport all of them to the City." Adam suggested.

"It is not." Ikora retorted. "Gods exist in that world. Which means there will be several beings at least as strong as Crota that would not be happy with our action."

"We need information then," Hector spoke up. "On every possible threat that we might encounter."

"Seeley, any suggestion on the location?" The Vanguard of the Titan asked.

"I might know one." He replied before taking out a map.

On the table, a holographic globe of the planet that the City had just discovered appeared. Seeley was amazed by what he saw before shaking his head. He observed it, letting the globe rotated around several times before pointing at a continent.

"Zoom in on that continent!" The hologram zoomed in and stopped rotating. "Now, do the same thing in…this area!"

"Is that where we could gain information?" Hector asked the former mayor.

"Now, that's an area that you should try to _avoid_. My people and I maybe are the followers of the Order but we're part of a more tolerant denomination." He pointed his finger at the area. "They are _not_. You might find yourself being burned at the stake."

"How barbaric," Eva growled.

"I suggest that you visit the area hundred of miles away from here, to the southeast. That area is a monster-friendly area but also fiercely independent. It's one of the reasons why it hasn't become a Demon Realm."

"Demon Realm? Really?" Cayde muttered before laughing. "Come on, the entire name has 'abandon all hope ye who enter here' label on it. I could see the Hive selling their ideology better and it involves a lot of death. Public relationship, those demons suck."

"Well, they never need one in the first place." The former mayor stated before waving his hand. "Anyway, avoid the Order area because they would not be friendly and avoid the Demon Realm because obvious."

"That's your objective, Guardians." The Vanguard of the Titan said. "Gather as many information as you can about potential threats on the planet."

"Any possible threat you can tell us?" The Vanguard of the Warlock asked the old man. "Danger that they might encounter in the area?"

"It's rare but sometimes, the Order sends a raid party to attack the settlements in the area. I have seen what Guardians could do and they would possess little threat." Seeley stated as he put his hand on his chin. "Same thing with the monsters. However, there are magic users and those capable of infiltration. Thank gods I never encounter them but that also means I know little of them as well."

"Infiltration will be no problem." Hector's Ghost, Jerry, suddenly appeared. "When the Amazonesses attacked Wickers, I and other Ghosts scanned them. They emitted energy exclusive to them, possessed not by a human, Awoken, Exo, and even Rani."

"Me?" Said Hunter was surprised.

"It's likely because you were a dead woman and now a Guardian," Cayde suggested. "Speaking of which, you're new here, aren't you?"

"R-Right."

"After this meeting is over, speak to me. Your starting package is waiting for you."

"Of course."

It took several more minutes before the meeting was over. In the end, everything was set in stone; the five Guardians would return to the planet and gather information.

* * *

On their way to the planet, five jumpships flew towards its moon first. When they were near, they first revolved around the moon as they slowly decreased their speed. Once they reached the desired speed and was now located at the far side of the moon, they could now safely observe the surface of it. They could see a construction was currently occurring.

"Man, Lord Shaxx wastes no time at all," Adam commented. "At this rate, we will have more arena than we have Guardians."

"It's a good area denial strategy, you have to admit," Eva stated. "No one in their right mind would consider a place where Guardians duke out with each other a real estate market."

"Um, newbie here?" Rani said to others. "Who is Lord Shaxx and what he has to do with the construction below?"

"Lord Shaxx is one of the oldest Guardians, predating the existence of the Last City. He's currently the manager of the Crucible, which is some sort of institution where Guardians could fight each other for loot, glory, or the heck of it." Hector explained.

"He has a policy of turning strategic locations into Crucible arenas so the City could hold it and preventing the enemies from using them," Mary added. "Speaking of which, want to be the first when this arena is opened?"

"Maybe later. I should gain some experience first."

"Smart choice. Many new Guardians just head straight into one and become laughing stocks for several days." The Warlock commented.

The jumpships increased their speed and flew away from the moon, heading towards the planet itself.

"Alright. Mary and Rani will accompany me. The two of you, scan the planetary surface." Hector gave the order. "You will also bail us out if things go south."

"Yes, sir!" All of them replied.

* * *

On the ground, the three Guardians observed their surroundings, weapons ready on their hands. After several minutes of inspection, they became relaxed but kept their weapons on hand.

"Area clear!" Mary declared. "A settlement few clicks north."

Hector materialized a binocular and looked upon it. The settlement was walled, not unlike Wickers, but also bigger. At the front gate, he saw one of the guards was having a conversation with a woman with lizard-like characteristics like green tail and feet. She also had a sword strapped to her waist.

"That's our destination, ladies." He stated as he dematerialized the binocular. "Just as we planned it; show them our faces and don't show any sign of hostility."

* * *

In the market district of the town of Alnus, the situation was busy but calm. Merchants were offering goods to potential customers, ranging from basic necessity like food to decorative object like paintings. People looked around, trying to see if something catch their interest, either alone or with their closed ones.

The attention of almost everyone was soon directed towards a group walking pass through the market, consisting of four guards and three other people. A bald man with a rough beard wearing a black long coat, a woman with violet hair wearing an armor of the same color but darker shade, and last – but not the least – an Amazoness wearing a black suit with brown cape above it.

Upon setting their eyes on her, the people in the market became worried as Amazonesses were not known for their kindness nor civility. Those who went with their husbands – humans and monsters alike – pulled them closer to themselves. Their eyes stared at the tanned woman, daring her to make even a move towards their beloved men.

"It seems that we gain a lot of attention." The man in the long coat commented.

"You have to understand, sir. It's not every day that an Amazoness visited our town." One of the guards stated as he glanced at said woman. "Especially one as…nice as she is."

"Well, she is a bit different compared to the rest of her species." The woman in armor said. "We can vouch for that."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The group finally arrived at the town hall. The guests were told to wait as one of the guards went inside to inform the mayor of their arrival. After several minutes of waiting, he came back and asked them to come inside the building.

Along their way to the mayor's office, the three of them could see several luxurious items decorating the rooms of the town hall. Paintings, small marble statues, clocks decorated with gold, and many more. Whoever the mayor was, they were a person of wealth.

When they reached a door, a guard opened it. The three of them walked in, finding themselves face-to-face with a woman, standing in the middle of quite a big office. She had tanned skin with long black hair, reaching her waist. The white tunic that she wore almost reached her ankles, leaving only her arms uncovered. On her head was a golden tiara with a shape of a snake in the middle.

"Greetings, honored guests. I am Siris, the mayor of the town of Alnus." She greeted them, offering a smile. "May I know on what purpose you visit our peaceful home?"

* * *

**And this is finally done. **

**If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me. **

**Review, please!**


	4. A Titanic Finding

**A Titanic Finding **

It was quite a bizarre sighting. Three Guardians were currently sitting in front of the mayor of a town with a cup of tea for each of them in hand. Said mayor, Siris, was closing her eyes with both of her hand in front of her face.

"I see. So, you intend to visit our archive of knowledge to learn more about the species of the Mamono." She stated as she opened her eyes.

"You can put it that way," Hector replied as he took a sip of his tea.

"I see no problem with your request." The mayor put her hands on the desk. "I just need you to satisfy a curiosity of mine."

"Shoot."

"The Amazoness that is with you." Siris pointed at the Hunter, who stopped drinking her tea. "How is she…like that? Amazonesses are not known to be…gentle, for the lack of better word."

"To put it short, she was resurrected with no memory of her past life." The Warlock explained. "She's basically a clean, pure paper, ready to be filled with whatever you want to write."

The mayor, the Titan, and the Hunter looked at him as all of them raised an eyebrow. Hector awkwardly took several sips before shrugging.

"Bad analogy, I know. I am not good at this."

"…Alright." Siris nodded her head. "Second, and it's related to the Amazoness there, Miss…"

"It's Rani." She said her name.

"...Rani. Several days ago, a Lizardman visited a bar and spread a story. She spoke of how she encountered a band of Amazonesses that were migrating from their home. The women told her about killers with muskets that could fire bullets in seconds and blessed by the dark gods that kill and kidnap innocent people wherever they go. One of them was an Amazoness who turned her back on her own kind." The mayor gave them a stare. "Are you the warriors that they speak about?"

Silence fell upon the room. Hector gave a glance towards both Rani and Mary. The Hunter looked around the room before shrugging while Mary simply put her cup down and nodded her head. The Warlock looked back at the mayor and cleared his throat before speaking.

"That is correct. When we encountered the Amazonesses for the first time, they were trying to raid a small settlement. Naturally, as Guardians, we defended the place and repelled them."

Siris nodded her head before letting out a small laugh. She relaxed and gave them a friendly look.

"Well, nobody here likes the Amazonesses. They tend to drive away other Mamono so that there would be no competition. At least now I know that you have nothing to hide. Besides, I have heard better lies from a five-years-old." She stated. "Very well. Our library is open for you to use."

"We appreciate it," Hector replied.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot." Siris stated before showing a more serious expression. "Your actions towards the Amazonesses will surely catch the attention of Ares, the patron god of their species. It is also likely that it will attract other gods as well."

"Damn, I guess that's another god that put us in her shit-list," Mary commented as she looked at her tea.

"…You managed to anger a god before?" The mayor couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Well, we already took care of him, so it's not exactly an issue."

She could feel a headache coming and started to wonder if letting them in was a good idea.

* * *

"That's a lot of books," Mary commented as the librarian put a pillar of books on the table.

"Well, you ask for _every _information that we have on Mamono." The librarian, a woman with wolf ears and tail, replied. "This is not even half of it."

"Let's look at them first. The rest will come later." Hector stated as he grabbed one of them. "By the way, if you don't mind, what is your species?"

"I am a Kikimora."

For the most part, the Guardians simply took a picture of every page of the book. Though there were times when the pages had a piece of interesting information, causing them to read it for a while before continuing. This happened for several minutes before Rani commented on something that she read.

"Huh, Kikimora." The Hunter opened her mouth.

"Yes?" The librarian looked at the Amazoness.

"Oh, no. Not you." She showed her the pages that she read. "This book said that Kikimora work as a maid for their husbands."

"That's a generalization." She commented. "A servant would be a more correct term. My husband is also a librarian and since he could be quite a workaholic, I ended up becoming one as well so that I could give him a hand."

"Don't see anyone else besides you here," Mary stated.

"He's currently at the coffeehouse with his friends. He should be back in a couple of hours." The librarian said as she looked at the clock in the room. "Hopefully he doesn't forget my order."

As if on cue, there was a sound of someone stomach's grumbling. The people in the room looked at the source, which was none other than the Titan herself. She laughed in embarrassment as she scratched her head.

"I guess it's time for lunch." She commented.

"Well, for the people here, it's usually an hour later." The Kikimora stated. "Anyway, no food allowed in the library. So, you need to eat outside."

"Let's do it then," Hector said as he stood up. "It's been hours since our last meal."

* * *

It was a medium-sized restaurant. As for the moment, there were several customers with dozens of seats still empty. Without anything to do, some of the employees simply stared at the condition of the restaurant.

"Ah, a good time to rest." A Lizardman commented as she stretched.

"Stay awake, Melissa. There could be a customer coming at any moment." A Holstaur reminded her colleague.

"Nah, you worry too much. I am always vigilant. Just ask my hubby."

When they heard the door of the restaurant was opened, they looked there and saw the Guardians entered the building. Both of them became cautious when they set their eyes on the Amazoness. As the trio looked at the menu, the Holstaur looked at Melissa, who nodded.

"Got your back, June." The Lizardman stated.

"Waiter." Hector suddenly raised his hand.

Upon hearing that, June went towards the Guardians with a notebook and pencil in hands.

"What is your order, sir?" She asked them.

"I'll take a beef stew and a mug of mead. You girls have the same order, right?" The two female Guardians nodded their heads. "Same for them."

She wrote the order and went back to the kitchen. After giving the paper to Melissa, she observed the trio as the Lizardman cooked their meals. She kept her eyes on them, especially on the Amazoness. So far, she hasn't done anything that her species usually did. However, she didn't see anything wrong with being cautious.

June had to admit it was quite an interesting sight. Amazonesses were known to look down at males – with even their husbands only being a _possible _exception – and tried to change female humans into their own. The one that she currently saw, however, could pass off as a human with a horn, wing, and tail. Seeing her simply having a conversation with the other two people on the same table was quite a sight.

When the food and drink were ready, the Holstaur delivered them to the table. Just as she finished and was about to walk back to the kitchen, another customer entered the restaurant. This time it took the attention of not only the employees but also the customers.

It was none other than Siris, the Mayor of Alnus.

"Ah, Guardians. What a coincidence to meet you here." She stated as she approached them.

"Hello there, Lady Siris." Hector greeted her before gesturing at an empty seat. "Please, have a seat."

"Why, thank you." She took a seat and looked at June. "I take the usual, June."

"Of course, milady." The woman replied before returning to the kitchen with a new order.

"So, how can we help you?" Mary asked as she stirred her stew. "I have a feeling that you will visit us in the library if we're not here."

"Good call, Miss Mary," Siris stated. "I was coming back from shopping and decided to visit this place. They have some of the best wine to offer in Alnus. Anyway, I need you to investigate something."

"Why us and not the city guards?" Rani asked as she took a sip of her mead.

"Not many of them are free at the moment and also not well-equipped to deal with possible threats." The mayor replied, just in time for her wine to arrive. "Thank you."

"So, what do you want us to investigate?" Hector asked, stopping his eating for a while.

"A letter arrived at me not long ago. It was from a merchant. He wrote that his caravan was attacked by a pack of Werewolves. He and others would have been kidnapped if it's not for the three mysterious helpers that helped them." She explained as she poured a glass. "One of them has – and I quote – 'musket that fired bullet after bullet without reloading.'"

The three Guardians started to look at each other. The fact that it was three rather than two suggested that it wasn't a work of Adam and Eva. Which meant that the three helpers were likely locals who somehow got their hand on a rifle or submachine gun. Maybe even a machine gun. Perhaps they found it in a ruin of the remnants of the Golden Age.

"Well, that sure is interesting." The Warlock commented as he grabbed his mug of mead. "So, where's the location?"

"Go out through the west gate. From there, just follow the road until it split into two; one towards Lescatie and another towards Roen. Take the latter path until you arrive at a forest located at the mountainside. That's where the event occurred."

"Alright. We'll go there once we finished our meal." He replied as he took a spoonful of stew.

"You have my thanks, Guardians."

* * *

Once they arrived at the forest that fit the description given to them, the Guardians disembarked from their Sparrows and took out their auto rifles. They looked around the area, trying to detect any possible hostile individual, finger close to the trigger before they aimed down their weapons.

"Area clear," Hector stated before showing his palm, making Jerry appeared on it. "Scan the area, buddy."

"No problem." The Ghost floated around, scanning through the trees. "I managed to detect energy, similar to the one that Mamono emitted. However, it disappeared before I can investigate further."

"She likely goes deeper into the forest." The Warlock said as he looked at his auto rifle, making sure a round was already in the chamber. "Stay alert and keep your eyes peeled!"

The trio of Guardians slowly walked into the forest; weapons ready for any sign of danger. They watched their step, careful to not step on a branch and alert potential hostile forces. Admittedly, it was likely that they were already spotted but that was no excuse to make the enemy's job easier.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

They immediately aimed their auto rifles at the source of the voice. Standing in front of them was a Werewolf, rags around her chest and waist were the only thing protecting her modesty. From the trees behind her, more Werewolves revealed themselves, eagerness shown in their faces.

"I must say, the three of you are the strangest people that I ever meet. Your spirit energy is…something else." The Werewolf stated before pointing at Rani. "Especially you. Horn, wing, tail, you're obviously a Mamono yet you have the energy as well and not even a speck of demonic energy. How are you still alive?"

"I got better." The Amazoness replied as she simply shrugged.

"Alright, ladies. Listen up, because I am going to say this only once." Hector opened his mouth. "We're not here for you. So, let's make a deal; we don't hurt you and you don't hurt us or anyone else for that matter. We will go to our separate way. How's that?"

"This must be your first time meeting us, darling." The Werewolf replied as she looked at him with a lustful stare. "I can't just wait to strip you off that armor…"

She was unable to finish her sentence due to the Warlock performing a double-tap with her chest being the target. The other Werewolves looked at the death of their leader in shock before diverting their eyes back to the Guardians, who have chosen their targets.

"Fire."

As leads flew towards them, the Werewolves tried to close the distance between them and the Guardians. Many of them fell before reaching even half of the distance. When one of them managed to get close to Hector and was ready to swipe her claws, the Warlock punched her with his palm, sending her flying as she disintegrated, before jumping away.

"This is just like fighting Thralls," Mary commented as she threw a Grenade. "Just running towards us as we pick them one by one."

Rani was about to ask which enemy faction that has Thralls when she noticed a Werewolf was only a few feet away from her. She took out her knife and stabbed her in the throat before slitting it. The latter grabbed her own neck as blood flowed from the wound before her life was ended by a bullet to the head.

Suddenly, an arrow flew towards one of the Werewolves. She was then shrunken into a purple sphere. From it, the Werewolves nearby were tethered. Seeing the event, Hector immediately knew the one who did it.

"Nightstalker." He stated as he began to look around for the Hunter.

He managed to see someone emerging from the trees. They were not a Hunter, however, but rather a Titan. Rather than a normal weapon, the Guardian was using a wrist-mounted machine gun, which was immediately put to use when they spotted the Werewolves.

Soon, two more Guardians emerged from the woods; a Titan who possessed a green tail with a sword in hands and a Hunter – most likely the Nightstalker – with bow and arrows. With them coming from the rear of the Werewolves, the pack broke apart. They tried to run away but the Guardians did not let them. The fight was over when the last of the Werewolves was killed by an arrow to the back.

"That's the last of them," Mary stated as she approached the reinforcement. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem. Guardians should help each other, after all." The Titan with the sword said, the voice indicating that she was a female, which was actually obvious considering she was a Mamono.

"How long have you guys been active?" Hector asked them.

"I am not exactly sure. I lost track of time after two weeks of my resurrection." The Nightstalker replied in a male voice.

"Same for me." The Lizardman said.

"I have been active for more than a month. This is my third." The Titan with wrist-mounted machine gun said in a female and rather mechanical voice. "I met Eliza, a fellow Titan, in the second month and Alberto, the Hunter, during the last day of the second."

"I see." The Warlock nodded his head, making sure to remember the information.

"I have a question." The Titan suddenly said. "Are you locals or do you come from the Last City?"

"The latter. I am a local as well but I already have a place in the City." Rani answered the question.

"Great! That means I could finally get my hands on some shiny loot!" The Titan, Eliza, exclaimed.

"In any case, our job here is done. We should head back to Alnus." Hector's suggestion received unanimous voice. "Speaking of which, I don't believe you have introduced yourself."

"I apologize." The Titan lowered her head a little before raising it back. "The name that I possess is Gertrude."

* * *

"Well, that's an interesting story," Siris said towards the six Guardians in front of her desk, all of them have their face uncovered.

The Nightstalker Hunter was revealed to be an Elf while the Titan with the wrist-mounted gun was an Automaton. The three Guardians from the City couldn't help but wonder if Gertrude was some kind of a rare model Exo.

"So, when do we get back to the City?" Eliza asked, barely holding her eagerness.

"Likely several hours later," Hector answered the question. "We still have our original task and there's still a matter of transport for you three."

"Ah, speaking about transport…" Alberto suddenly speak. "Didn't we find a jumpship in an underground ruin?"

"Indeed, but it was a mere junk when we found it," Gertrude stated. "Only the frame remained. Every vital component, especially the engine, has been stripped away."

"I remember. There might be something else that is equally valuable in there though."

"A good possibility. Unfortunately, we do not have a map and thus unable to point out the location of the ruin."

"We'll deal with that later." The Warlock declared. "Right now, let us go back to our original task. By your leave, Lady Siris?"

"Go ahead."

* * *

Back in the library, the Guardians continued looking through the books. With three more addition among their rank, they could look at more book at a time compared to earlier. They also widened their research, looking at not only species of Mamono but also the Demon Realms and anything related to it.

"So, you guys once encountered soldiers of the Demon Lord's Army?" Mary asked as she flipped a page.

"Not exactly. More like scouts and are still green as well." Gertrude replied, closing a book before taking another one. "They cared more about the men that they tried to kidnap rather than us."

"Well, when one encountered someone who can kill their leader with nothing but fist, it's kind of hard to not deciding to runaway while not being empty-handed," Eliza stated. "On the other hand, that was also why we managed to get every last one of them so, I guess it's not a good choice either."

"Heh, it was quite hilarious, their faces," Alberto said as he laughed a little. "The Baphomet arrived, the Succubi and Witches rejoiced, Gertrude killed her with Fist of Havoc, they lost their smiles and immediately ran away."

"Ever encounter a Dullahan or two?" Hector asked, who just so happened to read pages about said Mamono.

"Once. A squad of them." The Automaton answered. "We have no intention of attacking them when one of them suddenly demanded Alberto to come with her. It was likely that she was looking for a mate. Anyway, we ended up fighting them."

"We even managed to get loot from the fight." The Lizardman said as she materialized a sword. "One of their swords, made from the Demon Realm Silver."

"Don't lose it. The Gensym Scribes will be interested in studying the material." Hector said.

"Aren't you one, Hector?" Mary asked the Warlock.

"Not a permanent member. Sometimes their study got me interested and that's it." He replied nonchalantly.

With that, the Guardians stopped their conversation. All they did was reading the books, taking pictures of the pages, and searching for a new one to read. It happened for several minutes when the silence was broken by the librarian entering the library alongside a black-haired man with glasses, likely her husband.

"Greetings," The Kikimora said as the couple approached them. "I hope our leave did nothing that inconvenience you."

"It's alright." The Sentinel Titan replied. "Say, I didn't see any book about the Order. No matter how hard I look for it, I didn't see it."

"Unfortunately, we don't have a book about them. The useful one at least." The man explained. "The ones that we have is either propaganda from the Demon Realms or the Order itself."

"There are truths among the content but it requires good critical thinking to separate it from the lies and said truths also tend to be only a half." The librarian added. "We're currently trying to write one with a more neutral stance but it could take months before it is finished."

"Well, isn't that problematic?" Mary commented as she folded her arms. "Maybe we should visit an Order-aligned city, see it with our own two eyes on what the organization is exactly about?"

"The nearest city is hundreds of miles away from here." The librarian told her. "Furthermore, it is none other than Lescatie, the strongest region of the Order."

"Wait, then why does Alnus still stand?" Eliza asked. "I have heard about Lescatie and those guys are a bunch of zealots."

"As I said, we're hundreds of miles away. Even if they send an expedition to our direction, there are many settlements that would be in their way." The Kikimora explained. "They would have no choice but to turn around."

"So, those settlements act as some sort of meat – err, stone shields?" Alberto said as he put his hand on his chin.

"A crude way to put it but it is not wrong." The librarian's husband replied as he fixed his glasses and realizing something. "Huh, what do you know? It's approaching night."

Upon hearing that, the others looked out of the window, seeing that the sky was turning orange.

"Well, I guess it's time for us to go back," Hector stated as he closed the book in his hands.

* * *

For three days, the Guardians went back and forth from the Tower to Alnus. Hector was the only one who did it for three days straight while his companions change from day to day. It was the fourth day and he was accompanied by Adam and Gertrude.

"What the bloody hell is this?" The Warlock stated as the three of them stared at the poster pinned at the bulletin board of the town square.

On it was an image made by hand, depicting a person in a long coat, a person in a knight armor, and three people in a hood, along with several sentences written under it.

_Within those clothes exist confused, unloved, and hardhearted people_

_Without remorse nor regret, they had spurred any attempt of learning love_

_Innocents were slain, the wrongness of their act escaped them_

_Yet, in spite of that, we must endure and keep trying _

_We must show them that there's more in life than just mindless violence_

_We must help them reach their true feeling and soften their hearts with love_

"I have a reason to believe that this poster refers to us," Adam stated before chuckling.

"It is created by the followers of Eros." Siris, who was with them, explained. "Looks like those Amazonesses have spread the news. With mountains of lies, as you can see."

"This is just insulting." Hector facepalmed. "Lady Mayor, next time you meet them, tell them I had a wife."

"Past tense?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Killed in action." His tone became somber. "Should've been there for her…"

"Alright, let's have none of that." Adam suddenly said as he grabbed the poster, ripped it off the bulletin and turned it into a ball before throwing it at a nearby bin. "Let's just return to the library and forget this ever happen."

"That will be impossible for me," Gertrude stated. "It appears that I possess an eidetic memory…"

"It's a figurative speech." The Hunter exclaimed.

"Ah. In that case, let's."

"You know, maybe I should have joined others and take that mission."

* * *

"So, what do you think of your first mission?" Mary asked as they took cover behind a large rock.

"Why the hell our first mission involved killing an Archon?!" Eliza exclaimed before crouching lower as a bullet almost hit her head.

"They only find out about it in the last minute. In fact, I only received the order to pull back right before he hit me in the head."

"Oh, that's just… Wait, where's Rani?"

As if on cue, the Archon and his men stopped shooting at them. Curious, they took a peek and saw that Rani was grabbing the Archon using her arms by the neck with her right hand holding a knife. However, the Fallen managed to grab her by the leg and pulled her away from his neck. Before she could do anything else, he stabbed her using a sword before throwing her towards the two Guardians.

"Well, there she is," Mary stated as they went back to hide behind the rock.

"This is crazy! How are we supposed to defeat him?" Eliza asked.

"I can use the Sentinel Shield but I don't think that will be enough." The Sentinel said. "How about your Fist of Havoc?"

"I can't use it right now. Not enough Light."

"Then we'll make that happen."

Mary suddenly ran from the rock and fired at the Fallen crew. She managed to get two Vandals and a Dreg before they returned fire. With them being distracted by the Titan, Eliza joined in on the firefight. Mary then activated her super and used her Sentinel Shield to protect herself as she ran towards the Fallen. Two Captains drew out their sword and dashed towards her. The Titan managed to kill one of them but the second Captain was able to slice her across the abdomen. She threw the Sentinel Shield at him, killing the Captain before she herself was killed by a headshot by a Vandal.

During that, Eliza managed to gather enough Light to use the Fist of Havoc. She jumped into the air, activated her Super, and flew towards the Archon. Seeing her coming, he and other Fallen tried to run away but it was useless; the Lizardman hit him, killing not only the Archon but also the remaining Fallen.

As she stood up, the Striker noticed something on the ground and picked it up. To her surprise, which was soon replaced by joy, she managed to get a purple engram. She jumped around, knowing just how valuable the loot that she managed to get.

Her happiness was interrupted by a footstep. She immediately pointed her rifle, only to relaxed when the Titan noticed that it was none other than Rani, her Ghost floating nearby.

"So, what do I miss?" The Hunter asked.

* * *

When the three of them returned to the Tower, they were about to walk towards Master Rahool when they suddenly received a transmission from Hector.

"Hey, listen, I know you girls just return from a fight against an Archon but we need you in the Hall of Guardians. It's important."

They looked at each other for a while before Mary continued her walk and gave them a sign to follow her. When they realized that they were not walking towards Rahool's stand, Eliza let out a sigh.

"Can't we visit him first? It's not like it would take a long time." She suggested.

"Later. Whatever it is, it must be important." The other Titan replied.

When they arrived, they saw that alongside the Vanguards were Guardians who were locals of the second Earth – which has been given a designation "Gaia" – and the other Guardians that rediscovered the planet.

"Good, you're here," Hector stated when he noticed their arrival.

"Alright. So, what is all of this about?" Mary asked them as she and her companions approached the table. "Must be important that you immediately call us here."

"Very important," Ikora replied, her arms were folded. "We have a reason to believe that the Demon Lord and the Mamono under her are agents of the Darkness."

Silence fell upon the room as Guardians other than the Vanguards looked at each other. It was clear that the statement was nothing close to what each of them anticipated. After all, they were talking about the Darkness, the ancient enemy of the Traveler and the one responsible for the Collapse which ended the Golden Age of Humanity.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back off, back off," Adam said, waving his hands around. "Are you trying to say that the Mamono of the Demon Realms is followers of the Darkness? Like the Hive and the Vex?"

"Well, it's either that or they created their weapons by reverse engineering technology from them. Maybe the Hive but we're not exactly sure about that." Cayde explained. "We try to ask Eris but she's…not exactly in the mood."

"When was the last time she was in the mood?" Eva muttered.

"She seems happier upon hearing Crota's demise." The Hunter Vanguard replied before clearing his throat. "Anyway, remember the sword that Eliza gave us? One made from a material called the Demon Realm Silver?"

"The sword has a very interesting property. Used on non-living material, it acts like a normal sword. Used on living beings, it saps away their strength without harming them." Zavala continued the explanation. "Used on Guardians, however, its true potential is revealed. Any of you know why the Great Disaster happened?"

"We were caught off-guard by what Crota and his spawn could do," Mary answered as she put her hand on her chin. "It is said that the Eater of Hope wielded a sword so dark it drained whatever Light it touched."

Slowly, her eyes became wide as she uttered word afterword. She looked at the Commander, shock clearly present on her face.

"Wait, are you trying to say that the sword is similar to Crota's sword?!"

"A very weak version, fortunately," Ikora assured her. "Still, it is indeed a disturbing revelation. It drains the Light of a Guardian, an act that can give one their final death."

"OK, it's official; whoever wrote that weapons made from the Demon Realm Silver are harmless wrote a bunch of bullshit," Eliza stated as she shivered. "Damn, we were goddamn lucky that those Dullahans were unable to harm us."

"To summarize it, our business on Gaia has become a lot more important," Cayde stated. "It is not only to save the people there but also eliminating potential threats; ones related to the Darkness."

"That's all that we have to say." Zavala declared. "You're all dismissed."

With that, the Guardians that were called returned back to their earlier business. They couldn't help but feel worried due to the information that they had just received. It was clear that from this point on, things were about to get more serious.

* * *

**Answers to some reviews:**

**questorimperialis102296: **Yep. Depending on their fanaticism and zealotry, some sects of the Order would be opponents of the Guardians.

**GREAT CELESTIAL-DRAGON: **It's very unlikely that the Fallen and Cabal would make an appearance in MGE planet.

* * *

**If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me. **

**Review, please!**


	5. Dirt Under Cleanness

**Dirt Under Cleanness**

On the orbit of Gaia, three jumpships were on their way to approach their destination. Currently, they were waiting for their Ghosts to translate the encrypted message that they received from the Tower. It took several minutes for it to be done.

"Alright. The mission is quite straight forward." Ahmed said to his companion. "All that we need to do is mapped the area surrounding Lescatie. If everything goes well, no shot will be fired."

"That explains a lot, to be honest," Mary commented. "Well, better get going then."

The three ships descent into the ground below, careful so that their ships didn't get burned by the atmosphere of the planet.

* * *

Once they arrived on the ground, the three Guardians checked their surroundings. After making sure that the area was clear, they regrouped and started to discuss their plan.

"Alright, as you all know, we can finish this without firing even a single shot. If you encounter a patrol, avoid confrontation at all cost. Engage only when there's no other choice." Mary explained to her partners. "Crystal?"

The two other Guardians, a Hunter, and a Warlock nodded their heads and said "Roger" and "Affirmative" respectively. With that, the three of them went to their separate way.

Mary didn't know much about those two Guardians. She had worked with them at least two times but those missions didn't last long. She knew, however, that they were known to be…less loud compared to most Guardians. They were also known to be capable of stealth and by "stealth" she meant "remained undetected by the enemies" rather than "kill all enemy until nobody's left to spot you." The latter tend to be the favorite among most Guardians.

Thus, the three of them were the best when it came to being stealthy.

Standing at the top of a small hill, the Titan had a clear view of the capital city of Lescatie. Both the nation and the city shared the same name. She had heard about this; something called a city-state or rather a "city-kingdom." Despite the name though, the total amount of territory that a city-state possess was bigger than the total amount of territory that was the city proper.

She materialized her binocular and looked at the city. Even though she looked it from afar, she could see the signs of the magnificence of the city. Cathedrals standing tall amidst the rows of buildings erected walls and gates covering all passage and the enormous palace of the royalty.

While nothing close to the Last City, it had its own charm. Besides, the locals simply did not possess the technology that the people of Earth still possessed. There was also, obviously, her own bias.

As she walked around the area, Mary couldn't help but feel nervous. So far, there was no sign of patrol. At most, there were simply sentries stationed on the walls. No foot at the outside of the city that she could detect.

"_Suspicious._"

She wondered if it was simply because of the different situation. Back on Earth, Guardians often went around the planet and also beyond. Rather than waiting for their enemy to attack, they instead walked into their bases and caused havoc. It was likely that the Order was more defensive when it came to warfare.

"Demonic energy detected," Ahmed stated as he suddenly appeared.

"What?" She was surprised.

"Over there, in the forest." He gestured towards the trees. "It's getting smaller and…it's gone."

"She must have gone deeper." The Titan said as she materialized a scout rifle.

The rifle was quite different from what she usually used in that there was a suppressor attached to the barrel. It was not an attachment that Guardians usually used thanks to how they usually fight. However, it was useful for this mission and was thus provided.

"Spy from the Demon Realms?" She asked as she went into the forest.

"Quite likely," Ahmed replied as he scanned the area. "Let's hope it isn't anything dangerous."

* * *

Inside the cottage that served as an orphanage, a hero of the Order Primera Concerto, a half-elf archer, couldn't help but massaged her head thanks to the events that happened these last few days.

Several days ago, when she was walking around the forest just like usual, she was approached by Sasha Fullmoon, a senior hero and one of the few people that she could call a friend. The warrior nun asked her help to defend an orphanage in the forest from possible danger. Despite being confused about why there was an orphanage in the forest of all place, she nevertheless followed her to the cottage.

She found out the reason upon seeing the children that were being taken care of there.

It was quite an awkward moment. Sasha explained to her that she simply couldn't just leave the Mamono children alone, especially since it was thanks to the crusades enacted by the Order that they lost their parents. While she could simply walk away from it, Primera knew how it felt to be abandoned because your parents were no longer among the living and decided to accept the nun's plea to guard the orphanage.

"Lunch is ready!"

Upon hearing that, Primera stood up from her chair and walked to the kitchen to help the two nuns that were in cahoots with Sasha's desire of taking care of Mamono orphans. While one of them was simply a human with a lot of compassion, the other one was surprisingly a Mamono. A Dhampir to be exact. Which actually explained why she managed to become a nun. They were always hard to find and detect.

As the trio prepared the lunch, the orphans began to gather on the dining table. One by one, each of them received a bowl of beef stew. Those who received it first waited until all of them received one as well.

It was when Primera was about to put down a bowl that she realized that they were missing a kid.

"Hey, who sit over here?" The half-elf said as she pointed at the chair.

"Oh, come on. Bertha's not here again?" A Salamander complained.

As if on cue, they heard the sound of the front door being opened before immediately closed. Primera let out a sigh before walking towards it. When she arrived though, she found out that Bertha – also a Salamander but younger – had a frightened look on her face.

"Something wrong?" She asked as she folded her arms.

"B-B-Big sis…" The child spoke, trembling. "K-K-Knight. O-Outside."

The half-elf raised an eyebrow before walking towards the window, carefully moving the curtain so that her face wouldn't be seen from the outside. Just as the Salamander said, there was a knight walking towards the cottage; a knight whose strange armor was colored in violet and carrying a strange musket…

"Shit!" Primera immediately took a step back and grabbed Bertha by the shoulders. "Go get Adeline and Maia!"

The Salamander nodded before running towards the kitchen. The hero went to pick up a short sword. While she was much better using a bow and arrows, the distance between the knight and the cottage meant that it was very unlikely that she would be able to let loose even an arrow.

"Primera, what's wrong?" Maia, the Dhampir nun asked, carrying a mace. "Bertha comes to us, saying that you're asking for our presence."

"Remember how Sasha spoke to us about a company of warriors who mercilessly slew Amazonesses and Werewolves? I think one of them is here." She said to them.

"What?!" Adeline, also carrying a mace, exclaimed. "Are you sure?"

"Most likely. Their descriptions are that they wear quite a colorful armor and armed with strange muskets that can fire multiple shots." The half-elf said. "Even if I am wrong, there's at least a knight currently approaching this place."

_KNOCK KNOCK _

The three of them froze upon hearing the knock. Primera immediately gave a sign to Maia to evacuate the children while she and Adeline take care of the knight. Nodding her head, the Dhampir went towards the kitchen. Adeline took a position at the doorframe so that she could hit the knight from their blind spot. Giving the half-elf a thumb up, the hero opened her mouth.

"Enter! It's not locked." She said as she prepared for them to open it.

Silence fell upon the room. The two of them waited with worry for the door to be opened. Sweats started to form on their foreheads. Yet despite more than a minute has passed, it was yet to be opened.

Curious, Adeline went towards the window to look outside, only to have her eyes widened.

"Nobody's there." She reported.

"What? What do you mean nobody is…?"

_CRASH _

That, along with the voices of the children screaming, answered the hero's question. The two of them wasted not even a second and ran towards the source of the sound. When they arrived, they saw Maia and the children froze with the knight – entering through the window – aimed their musket at them.

Primera immediately tackled the knight, causing them to drop their weapon. Much to her surprise, they easily pushed her off and grabbed their musket. Without wasting any time, Adeline dashed towards the knight and swung her mace at them. The musket suddenly disappeared and the knight made a shield out of some kind of energy that they used to protect themselves from the attack.

Maia, no longer freezing on spot, went to help her fellow nun. She swung her mace, only for the knight to – in one swift movement – disarmed her, grabbed her by the collar, and threw her towards Adeline. They turned their attention towards Primera.

The half-elf tightened her hands and dashed towards the knight, sword in hands. They easily blocked her attempt to thrust her sword with their shield. It broke apart, leaving the hero weaponless. She then received a bash from the shield to the face, causing her to fall to the ground.

She crawled away on her back, right hand touching her face. Suddenly, the knight did something strange; they dispersed their shield and raised both of their hands.

"Relax, I mean no harm." The knight said in a woman voice.

* * *

"Yeah, right. Of course, you don't." The green-haired woman said with a voice full of sarcasm.

"I apologize for that. When I found out about the existence of demonic energy, I thought that it was a spy." Mary explained before looking at the children. "I did not expect it to come from the children."

"So, we'll just have to trust your words, huh?" One of the nuns said as she slowly raised up.

"If I want them dead, they would already be dead by now."

"She has a point." The other nun stated.

The Titan offered a hand to the elf, who accepted it roughly. It was clear that while they were willing to talk, they were also still keeping their eyes on her. They awkwardly stared at each other, unsure on how to proceed.

"Um, how about if I make tea for all of us?" A nun with blonde hair suggested. "How about that?"

"Yeah, tea. That would be nice." Mary replied as she took off her helmet. "I would like a cup."

The three of them suddenly froze. They stared at her then at each other, unable to believe what they had just seen. The Titan raised an eyebrow, confused by their reactions.

"Is there something on my face?" She asked.

"Wilmarina Noscrim?! You're a part of them?!" The elf exclaimed as she pointed at her. "You…wow… If Elt finds out about this…"

"Um, who are you talking about?"

It seemed that things were about to get complicated.

* * *

In Mars, Gertrude was currently taking a mission along with a Warlock and a Hunter. Their task was to reduce the amount of Cabal soldiers in a certain sector. Things were going well at first; they managed to eliminate a large group of Legionaries, Phalanxes, and Psions led by a Centurion. Then, their advance was halted when they encountered a Colossus.

As of now, the trio of Guardians was hiding behind a large rock.

"So, anyone has an idea of how to deal with him?" The Warlock asked as he gestured at the Colossus, who was firing at them with a Gatling gun.

"I know how." The Hunter replied. "You just have to say 'hello.'"

Gertrude was about to say that saying "hello" would be unlikely to help them but before she could do it, the gun suddenly stopped firing due to overheating. On cue, the Hunter immediately ran towards the Colossus, who dropped his gun and tried to punch him, only for the Guardian to teleport into his back. He left something for the Cabal soldier though; a pair of grenades.

They exploded, killing the Colossus. The Hunter dusted himself off as he walked back to his companions.

"I think it's more appropriate to say 'goodbye.'" The Warlock commented as he moved from his cover. "Let's go."

The Titan simply nodded her head and walked with them to their next destination. As they went off, Gertrude couldn't help but reminisce about how her and others' lives have changed ever since their resurrection as Guardians.

She remembered how she woke up in an underground ruin. All that she had was her armor, her wrist-mounted machine gun, and her Ghost. She explored the ruin, trying to see if there was anything worthwhile to no avail. She exited the ruin and began her journey.

Her first meeting with humans and Mamono was when she discovered a caravan of traders being attacked by a group of Black Harpies. She managed to repel them and rescued many of the humans. That was how her self-appointed mission – which turned out not exactly quite self-appointed – of guarding the innocent started.

Every time she fought Mamono who tried to get a husband without any consent from the men, they always asked her why was she preventing them from finding their loved ones. She didn't care much about that so bullets tend to be the answer. She also believed that that question was one of the stupidest questions one ever asked her.

After arriving in the Last City and received more information regarding the world where she was resurrected, the Automaton could see the possibility of the Demon Lord and her cronies being the agents of the Darkness. Under the smokescreen of spreading love and happiness, they seek to make mankind weak. Weak enough that they would be unable to survive against an attack from the Hive, Vex, or other agents of the Darkness.

"Hey, you hit the sauce?" The Warlock asked, making her stopped her thought.

"No, I do not hit a sauce. I am not even sure how someone could hit one." She replied.

"It's a metaphor…never mind. I forgot you are a literal thinker." He shook his head. "Just want to say that we're close."

"I see. Shall we proceed then?"

* * *

With the children already in their rooms, the dining room was free to be used for a meeting between the Titan of the Last City and the hero and nuns of the Order of the Chief Goddess. The former enjoyed the smell of her tea for a while before taking a sip. Ahmed had observed them making it without being spotted and could guarantee that no poison was being put into her cup.

"You know, looking closely, I can see some differences between you and her," Primera said as she leaned closer. "Your hair is also violet while hers is more blueish."

"I dyed my hair in case you're wondering. So, this is not the natural color of mine." Mary replied. "Do I really look like this 'Wilmarina' person?"

"A lot. Even with the differences, you can pass as a relative of her." Adeline answered.

"Huh, I see. Who knows, maybe it's because she's my descendant?" The Titan muttered as she leaned in. "I don't know whether I once had a child or not. So, yeah, who knows."

"What are you talking about?" The half-elf raised an eyebrow.

"Doesn't matter." She said as she waved her hand. "So, let's talk about the elephant in the room; me. All of you are afraid of me due to my reputation."

"Well, duh. You and your friends killed a bunch of Mamono and when have a bunch of them here. Kind of hard not to get freak out."

"For one, those Mamono attacked us and civilians. Second, I do not kill children."

"The first part is kind of obvious since you were fighting Amazonesses and Werewolves. They're not exactly known to be kind." Adeline joined in. "However, there's no way for us to know about it. You could be killing them because you're a monster-hater."

"Fair point." Mary showed her palm. "Now, what do you want to tell me?"

The three members of the Order were confused by her action when Ahmed appeared on her palm, surprising them.

"There's a trace of demonic energy inside the three of them and the food." The Ghost said.

"Wait, what?" Maia exclaimed. "Of course, I have one. I am a Dhampir. However, Adeline and Primera shouldn't have them. And what do you mean by the food having a trace of demonic energy?"

"Exactly what it says on the tin." He turned his body towards her. "I thought there's simply an error in my scanner or a misread. But there's no mistake; there's a trace of demonic energy in your food."

Mary's calm and joyful face turned serious. Ahmed disappeared from her palm and the Titan looked at the trio.

"Where do you get the food?" She asked.

"From the market district of Lescatie, of course," Adeline replied. "Is what that thing say is true?"

"I trust him with my whole life." Mary put her hand on her chest. "I must inspect the market. Do you know a hidden passage to the city and have a concealing outfit?"

"Yes, on both accounts." The Dhampir answered. "Just let me get them."

* * *

Inside the church that was also an orphanage, Sasha was currently folding the clothes that had just been dried. She was almost done when she suddenly heard a very specific noise; the noise of the door of the hidden passage being opened. The hero immediately went to the front door and – once seeing it locked – went towards storage, where the hidden door was located.

She couldn't help but feel irritated of entering the dusty room. Then again, it was her own fault that the place was full of dust. She let it happened to discourage people from entering it, thus giving another layer of protection for the hidden passage. When she arrived at the wall where the door was, she saw Maia, Primera, and an unknown person exiting it.

"Primera, Maia, who is this person?" Sasha asked them.

"Sasha, this is…" Before Primera could finish her sentence, the person put their hand in front of her mouth.

They then raise their index finger in front of their mouth; a sign to remain silence. A strange musket suddenly appeared on her hands, much to the surprise of other people in the room.

"Miss Fullmoon, is there a Mamono child in here?" The person – a woman judging from her voice – asked.

"N-No. I keep every last one of them in the orphanage in the forest." The nun raised an eyebrow, feeling suspicious. "Why?"

"Follow me." She replied as she began to walk. "And keep quiet."

The three members of the Order looked at each other skeptically before deciding to follow her. Every step that she made created little to no sound at all. When she opened a door, she did it slowly to make sure there was no sound created. On the way, they noticed that she was bringing them to the basement.

When she opened the door to the place, she took a slow descent, also to make sure no sound was created. Despite being in the dark, she seemed to be able to see considering that she aimed her musket at a very specific location. A floating thing suddenly appeared and set the room alight.

"W-What the…?!"

Before the speaker could finish her sentence, the woman fired two shots from her weapon. Sasha's eyes became wide, recognizing who the person that came along with Maia and Primera. Said two women immediately walked into the woman's position and – upon reaching it – showed a shocked face. Curious, Sasha followed them and found out the reason.

"That's a Dark Angel." The nun stated as she put her hands on her mouth.

* * *

Back in the living room of the orphanage, Sasha and Maia anxiously waited for Primera and Mary to return. The revelation that there was a Dark Angel hiding under her and the orphans' home made her sick in the stomach. While she was a Mamono sympathizer, she drew the line at them harming children. There was a reason why she didn't rescue every captured Mamono and warned every settlement that was about to be attacked.

Then there was how the Titan delivered the news that the food that they eat have been contaminated by demonic energy.

The two people that had just come back from the market entered the building and locked the door. From their faces, it was clear that they didn't have anything good to tell. Primera went as far as kicking the table until it fell.

"Shit, shit, SHIT!" The half-elf exclaimed furiously. "What the hell our mages have been doing this whole time?!"

"I take it it's nothing good," Maia stated.

"That's an understatement," Mary said in return. "While not all of the food is tainted, most of the tainted food has a cheap price and thus available to a lot of people. And that's not getting to several…discoveries that we made."

"That explains the drop in food prices," Sasha said. "Whoever does this want as many people to be tainted as possible, thus not caring about the fact that they do not make a profit."

"We must warn the higher-ups then." The Dhampir suggested. "Something must be done about this."

"And you will spell doom to not only you but also the Mamono children under our care." Primera retorted. "There's also how they might won't listen to you since you're just a nun."

"That could happen?" The Titan asked, surprised by what she had just heard.

"The dark side of this oh-so-holy city is that the royalty, the nobility, and the rich are basically a bunch of corrupt assholes. For a city that belongs to the followers of the Chief God, you think they would act better."

"That's messed up."

Mary put her hand on her chin, trying to figure out the solution. Leaving Lescatie to their fate was obviously not a choice since not only it would condemn the people here into the arms of the Demon Lord's followers, letting it fall would also strengthen the Demon Lord, who was an agent of the Darkness.

However, if the City decided to help Lescatie, they would face not only opposition from the Demon Army but also the governing body of the latter itself. She had seen the heart-wrenching conditions of the poor people of Lescatie. She also remembered the warning from Johnny Seeley on how a certain region that belonged to the Order was very intolerant. Lescatie was located in said region. Then there was Primera's opinion regarding the royalty and nobility and how neither Sasha nor Maia retort her.

This would be a hard mission. There was no doubt about it. The opposition would come not only from their enemies but also the very people that they tried to save, who would at best being very uncooperative and at worst outright hostile.

The Titan could help but let out a sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

* * *

In the Crucible Area located on the moon of Gaia, Mary briefed the Vanguards about her recent discovery through a video call. She was not the only person in the room; there were also Hector and Lord Shaxx.

"Well, that's certainly bad," Cayde commented after the Titan finished her briefing.

"I can vouch for that," Hector said as he joined in. "My sudden return from Alnus is because Lady Siris, the mayor of the town, told me that she discovered a large presence of Mamono army. I manage to confirm it after locating them from above."

"Lescatie is one of the potential targets, right?" Mary asked, causing the Warlock to nodded his head. "Well, no longer a potential since now we have a confirmation."

"This is not something we can let to happen. We must do our best to prevent the city from falling into the hands of the Darkness' agents." Zavala said before suddenly showing displeasure. "This happens at a very bad time."

"What happened?" Mary asked the Titan Vanguard.

"An announcement throughout the Solar system has been made; the Reef is now opening their realm to the Guardians. The reason is that the House of Wolves of the Fallen has rebelled and – if the information that we received is correct – is currently trying to unite all Houses under them."

She gulped upon hearing that in worry. She was one of many Guardians that participated in the Battle of the Twilight Gap. She knew just how powerful the Fallen could be if they were united. She lost count on how many times she died during the battle.

"Well, fuck." Hector commented. "we're basically short of people, aren't we?"

"That is correct." Ikora nodded her head. "On one hand, we can't let a city full of innocent falls into the hands of the Darkness. On another hand, I doubt we have enough people to protect it. Doesn't help that the Order won't be on our side."

"You sound to have no doubt about that." Mary pointed that out.

"We tried to make contact with the Order." Lord Shaxx explained. "The Hunter that we sent returned after killing several soldiers because they immediately attacked her."

"Johnny is right. At the very least, the Order in that region is full of intolerant assholes." Cayde said. "Fortunately, I have a plan. Well, a quarter of a plan but I have it nonetheless."

"Oh God, this is one of your crazy plans, isn't it?" Zavala commented as he facepalmed.

"Hey, my plans work in case you forgot!"

"You're unfortunately right. Alright, let's hear it."

For several minutes, the Hunter Vanguard explained the crazy plan that he had created. When he finished the explanation, everyone that listened to it couldn't hide their shock.

"That…has got to be…the _craziest _idea you ever made," Zavala commented as he pointed at the Exo.

"There's a lot that could go wrong," Ikora added. "It depends on luck, chances, and the Lescatians being a bunch of incompetent idiots."

"Look, I know the plan has a lot of holes…"

"There's more hole in it than in swiss cheese," Shaxx stated.

"…but if any of you have a much better plan, I am all ears," Cayde stated before folding his arms.

That was the core of the problem. As crazy as the plan that Cayde made was, it was also the _only _plan that they. They couldn't either think of another plan or could only make an even worse one. There were also how the Hunter's other crazy plans work; another reason to use the plan.

Thus, the plan was set in motion.

* * *

At one of the gates of Lescatie, several squads of soldiers were tasked to guard the location. The person assigned as the commander of the soldiers there was Lady Mersé Dascaros, one of the heroes of Lescatie. Said hero was currently inside an office, clutching her head due to a hangover.

"Ouch…" The woman muttered as she tried to make herself as comfortable as possible.

"And this is why I told you to stop drinking, captain." A soldier stated as he put a glass of water on her table.

"Keep that up and…just you watch it…" She was unable to make a coherent sentence.

"Caravan approaching!"

Hearing the shout, Mersé simply said something under her breath before closing her eyes. The soldier meanwhile exited the office to see said caravan.

On their way to the city were a dozen wagons with several people walking around them. Considering that the walkers had armors and weapons, they were likely the guards of the caravan. At the vanguard of the group were two people wearing armors that none of the soldiers had ever seen.

One of them was wearing white armor with several orange parts. He had furs on the shoulder plates of his armor and a horn on the right side of his helmet with the left being broken. The other was wearing a white and golden armor with a pair of wolf images on the chest part.

"Halt!" One of the soldiers ordered them once the caravan reached them. "State your name and business."

The person with a horned helmet stepped forward and raised his hand as he replied the soldier.

"Greetings, sir. I am Lord Shaxx and the knight beside me is Lord Forge. We are here to perform a trade in your beautiful and magnificent city!"

At the rear of the caravan, Mary – who was wearing a concealing outfit – let out a sigh; something that she had been doing ever since the beginning of the mission.

This was indeed a crazy plan.

* * *

**Answer to a review: **

**Lord of Moons: **It's easier said than done. The Mamono has no reason to trust the Guardians. At the same time, the Guardians are still thinking on how to deal with the Mamono since while they are some good people among them, they believed that the Demon Lord and her followers are agents of the Darkness which complicate things.

* * *

**If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me. **

**Review, please!**


	6. Dumb Equals Death

**Dumb Equals Death**

As they walked through the city, Mary couldn't help but wonder why she played a part in this whole plan. Sure, as Cayde-6 put it, it was the only plan that they could think of with even a _very _slim chance of succeeding. But that didn't mean she had to be standing right in the blast zone if the plan failed spectacularly.

Oh yeah, because she was the first person that made contact with the locals.

As she sighed due to her situation, the Titan looked around the part of the city that they were currently in. From the buildings, it was clear that they were currently in the richest part of Lescatie; the living places of the royalty, nobility, clergy, and other high classes people. Various mansions and churches, all of them were made from the best materials and decorated with gold and silver.

For her, they were eyesores.

While admittedly it was the gears that they offered that caused her to join the New Monarchy, Mary had found herself agreeing on some of their views several times. As such, the fact that these gaudy buildings existed while there were still slums in the city didn't sit well for her. She could see the New Monarchy approving the mansions and churches but also making sure that the slums would be replaced with proper housings where water and electricity were fully provided.

There was a reason many of the rich people in the faction were philanthropists.

In any case, the sooner they finished their business here the better.

* * *

Sasha couldn't help but feel nervous as she waited for the arrival of the "foreign merchants" along with the king and queen of Lescatie and the royal court. While she had indeed gone against them due to her actions regarding the Mamono, this was a whole new level. She was basically working with foreign agents to undermine her own nation.

A part of her tried to justify it by stating that this was the best scenario she could get. If she told the higher-ups about the infiltration and contamination of the food, they would react by enacting a purge or two and scouring the city in which they would very likely discover the secret pathway which would result in the execution of her, the people under her, and the children that she took care of.

It was nonetheless still not something that was easy on the mind.

"Are you OK, Sasha?" A whispered voice asked her.

The nun looked to her left and saw that it was a boy that she had considered to be her brother in all but blood. Ethan Tudor, more known as Elt by those close to him, looked at her worriedly. Sasha merely offered a smile and waved her hand.

"It's nothing. I think I am just tired from work." She told him.

"Alright. Remember to take proper rest, OK?" He replied.

"Of course. Of course. Worry not."

As if on cue, the moment she closed her mouth was also the moment the door was opened. Several soldiers entered the room, escorting two people in armor possessing a unique design. On the left and right sides of the group, a row of trumpeters played their instruments, signaling the arrival of the guests. Once they stood in front of the monarchs and the court, they kneeled. The king nodded his head and gave them a sign to rise, which was followed.

"Greetings, honored guests. I am King Castor, the king of this great nation, Lescatie." He introduced himself. "This is my wife, Queen Annabelle, and my daughters. May we know to whom we speak?"

"Greetings, Your Highness. I am Lord Saladin Forge." The man in grey and gold armor spoke first.

"And I am Lord Shaxx." The man in white and orange armor followed.

"We are knights tasked by our lords to ensure the safety of their caravans of merchants."

"From which region do you hail from?"

"We come from a faraway land, Your Highness. Months spent on land and at sea." Saladin answered. "We call our home… 'Bastion.'"

"I see. Unfortunately, I possess no knowledge of your home. The Kingdom of Lescatie has little contact with people of other continents."

"It is alright, Your Highness. This is the first time our traders have traveled this far, most of the time remained at the coastal regions." Shaxx replied. "If it doesn't mind you, Your Highness, we have gifts that we want to give to you, your family, and your court; both as thanks for the warm welcome and simple courtesy."

As the hosts and the guests were having a conversation with each other, several guards were bringing in chests that contained the aforementioned gifts. When Shaxx mentioned them, the guards opened the chests, revealing the gifts that the traders of Bastion wanted to give.

The leaders of Lescatie were amazed by the various gifts offered to them. There were imitation eggs adorned with various jewels, bottles of perfume that had exotic smells, weapons made from the finest material adorned with gold and silver linings with jewels, clothes made from very soft silk, and many more.

As she inspected one of the eggs, Sasha could not believe that the Guardians would go this far. The egg in her hands was made not only with the best material but also by an expert jeweler. One alone would be quite expensive even for the richest people in Lescatie. From her position, she had counted at least a dozen of them. And there were still other, no less expensive, gifts.

The nun looked at Lord Shaxx and Lord Saladin. While their faces were covered by their helmets, Sasha could feel them having a smug smile behind them.

* * *

Inside Sasha's orphanage, Mary was currently sitting alongside Sasha, Primera, and a mage who went by the name of Mimil Miltie. The Guardian and the elf were eating macaroons while the nun looked kind of depressed while the mage was silently observing a Ghost in her hands.

"Royal chatter…" Sasha muttered. "You managed to gain…a _royal chatter_…all thanks to your gifts…"

"Yeah, even Shaxx and Saladin are shocked as well," Mary said in return. "Good thing they were the ones who negotiated with your bosses. They can be very stoic."

"Shaxx? Stoic?" The Ghost said in disbelief. "That's an oxymoron."

"Eh, you simply haven't seen him when he's serious." She shrugged. "Speaking of which, what's Miss Miltie doing here?"

"Just call me Mimil, Miss Miltie is my mom." The mage replied as she let go off the Ghost. "As for why I am here, I was walking around, taking a break from my work, when I noticed something in a graveyard. I went there and found this floaty thing, who said that it works for Lady Fullmoon."

Almost immediately, Mary and Sasha glared at the Ghost, who was trying to make herself smaller to no avail, much to Primera's amusement. The four of them diverted their attentions towards the youngest person in the room when she cleared her throat.

"So, mind explaining to me what's happening here?" Mimil asked. "I never see this 'Ghost' before in the Magitec and they have some of the most unique artifacts that the Order have. Doesn't help that it feels like it is blessed by the Chief God."

"Well, you see…"

And thus, Sasha introduced Mimil to the conspiracy of Lescatian that worked together with the "merchants of Bastion" to root out Mamono infiltrators inside the city.

"Those…those…" The mage was trying to hold her anger. "Those idiots! I told those old men and hags that we need to improve our magical defense and detector! But no! All they did was playing politic this and connection that so that they could gain more influence and riches!"

Mary already had a low opinion regarding the higher-ups of Lescatie. What she just heard didn't raise it in the slightest and had the opposite effect in fact.

She wondered if this was how the City was when the Consensus and the Vanguard had yet to be established.

"I am in!" Mimil declared. "So, what do we need to do now?"

"Us 'merchants' will build our 'shops' and eliminate the infiltrators. You said you work for the Magitec, right?" Mary said.

"One of the best." She replied with a hint of pride and sourness. "What about it?"

"What is that, to be precise?"

"To put it simply, it's an institution for any magical technology and the one responsible for maintaining the magical defense and sensor of Lescatie." She sneered. "I am sure you know just how _good _they are at it."

"Is there a way for you to…change the setting so that they don't detect the Ghosts?" The Titan asked. "They are our eyes and ears in detecting the infiltrators."

"Not sure how much it would be necessary since these 'Ghosts' have holy energy and it is in abundance all around the city. But I'll see what I can do."

"Good. We also need to make our clean food popular among the nobility and common people." She looked at the two heroes. "Can you guys vouch for us?"

"I don't think I need to. You guys basically amazed them already." Sasha stated, once again sounded depressed.

"I guess I can. I know a lot of soldiers who are trying to save money." Primera stated as she picked another macaroon. "I can direct them to your shop."

"Glad to hear that." Mary turned her attention to the Ghost. "Considering you were at the graveyard, did you managed to find your Guardian?"

"Nope. Still searching." She replied. "I can feel it though. It's close."

"Remember to follow the order."

"Of course."

"Um…" The two of them turned their attentions towards the nun. "What does graveyard have anything to do with a Guardian?"

"Well…" The Titan moved her hand around. "It's kind of…complicated to explain."

* * *

Midnight had fallen in the city of Lescatie. Unlike the Last City, which remained active almost 24/7, or some of the human cities during the Golden Age that possessed the nickname "city that never sleeps," activity during this time in this city reached almost nil. While the population had artificial light provided by woof fires and candles, both weren't very bright and also quite expensive. It was considered to be a sign of wealth and luxury to be able to stay up late.

In one of the alleys, two Succubi were having a conversation with each other. They were two of the infiltrators that were tasked to spread the corruption around Lescatie so that when the main force arrived, they could simply turn the people of Lescatie into Mamono and Incubi, giving them a perfect victory.

"So, have you heard about the news?" One of the Succubi asked.

"Yeah, a bunch of merchants and knights from a foreign land." The other replied. "Have you ever heard of a place called 'Bastion?'"

"Nope. I don't exactly like traveling around. After I get a husband from this task, I'll retire."

"Same for me. I know the chance is low but I wish I could find my destined partner among the knights. Oh, those muscles and sweat~."

"Well, maybe if you're…"

"Hello, who's there?"

The two Succubi closed their mouths and turned their attention to the person who called them. From the voice, it was a man. He was approaching while holding a small torch in his hand.

"Is anyone there?" He asked again. "Hello?"

"Yes, we're here." One of the Succubi replied while the others giggled.

"Oh, sorry about that ladies. Can't exactly see with only this much light." The man replied. "Anyway, what are you doing here? It's dangerous to be outside when it's dark, especially for women."

"Worry not, sir. We are more…"

She was unable to finish her words due to a punch on her back. Her fellow Succubus also received a punch in the same place. Both of them were engulfed in lighting and shortly after that, disintegrate, leaving no trace at all.

"Well, isn't that easy?" Mary stated as she emerged from the darkness. "You're OK there?"

"Yeah, no worry." The man, who was also a Guardian, replied. "I must admit, they're really strong to be able to wear a bikini in this weather."

"They're not humans, so there would be some differences between them and us." The Titan said before walking away. "Come on, the night is still long."

* * *

"Um, Mary, there's something that I want to talk about."

"What is it, Sasha?"

After spending the night hunting down some of the infiltrators, Mary headed back towards the orphanage to take some rest. As she waited for the sun to rise, Sasha approached her, still in her nightdress.

"It's about…them." The nun said as she took a seat. "You know I have another orphanage where I and others take care of Mamono children, right?"

The Guardian nodded her head.

"I was once a younger woman, more faith in my superiors and the Chief God than now. For years, I participated in numerous crusades against the forces of the Demon Lord. I wanted to preserve the smiles of the people that we protected."

"So, what changed?" She knew what to ask.

"During the aftermath of a battle, I heard the sound of a child crying. I decided to investigate and when I arrived, I saw a little Minotaur crying over the corpses of her parents. She was the first Mamono children under my care."

"Must be difficult to raise a child who hated you for killing her parents."

"You have no idea." She laughed without any hint of joy. "Anyway, after that event, I started to question the teachings that I have believed ever since I was able to read. I tried to ask the Chief God about it but receive no response. Furthermore, I am no longer be able to speak with her."

The two of them remained silent for a while. Mary looked out of the window, seeing several rays of light that indicated that the sun was about to rise.

"You know where I come from, right?" She asked suddenly.

"From a land beyond the stars," Sasha replied. "I am going to be honest, it's still hard to believe."

"Heh. Anyway, Mamono is not the only threat that humanity faced. I will even say they're minor threats due to the fact that some of them can be negotiated with and exist only on one planet." Mary folded her hands in front of her mouth. "The Fallen, Cabal, Hive, and Vex are much greater threats."

"I…I am afraid I know nothing about them."

"You'll know soon. The Fallen and Cabal…I guess you can say they are two enemies that I have some sense of pity for. The former are desperate survivors of the collapse of their civilization. The latter…do you know that Cabal soldiers are exiled from their home and can only return after they finished their mission?"

"That's…that's bad…" The nun lowered her head. "So, why do you keep fighting?"

"Their happiness comes at a price and that price is suffering of humanity." The Guardian replied. "The shepherds must protect the sheep from the wolves. The wolves must hunt the sheep to ensure the survival of not only itself but also its family."

When the light of the sun entered the room, Mary stood up and walked towards the door. Before she opened it, she gave Sasha one last look.

"Who is the shepherd, the sheep, and the wolf, all depends on the perspective." She turned her head. "More often than not, we can only choose one among several bad choices."

* * *

The "merchants of Bastion" sold their wares like hotcakes. Whether it was food, fabric, medicine, or jewelry, their wares were always in high demand. Not only the prices were cheaper compared to other merchants, but the quality was also high in spite of the prices, making them very popular among the common people and the nobility.

Yet the leaders of the "merchants" didn't look happy in the slightest.

"OK, so let me get this straight…" Shaxx stated. "This big Mamono army, numbering in thousands, is being led by a daughter of the Demon Lord, and many of the soldiers are veterans?"

"If what Lady Siris told me is correct, yes," Hector replied as he nodded his head.

"Great. Just exactly what we needed." The Titan held his helmet with both of his hands. "Do we know how strong the daughter is?"

"She's responsible for several regions and nations of the Order falling and becoming Demon Realms." The Warlock folded his arms. "I guess it's not wrong to say that Lescatie is toasted."

"Looks like we're going to use the evacuation plan," Mary stated. "Can we rescue all of them?"

"I am sure you know the answer," Saladin said somberly.

The Guardians let out their voices, indicating their frustration. It didn't last long though for they suddenly picked up something from their communication line.

"Open channel," Hector stated. "Several dozens of miles away from here."

"They are likely local people resurrected as Guardians," Saladin added. "Looks like there are more things that we need to pay attention to."

* * *

The Crucible area that Shaxx built on the moon of Gaia was a little bit different compared to other areas. For one, it was more like a station with a colosseum as a recreational facility. There were things like sleeping quarters, mess hall, toilets, and more.

Inside the mess hall, Rani looked nervously as the new Guardians from the planet consumed their food as fast as they can. She couldn't help but feel worried about them. While death by food chocking was not a big problem, it was still not a pleasant experience.

"Ah… This is heaven." A Warlock Baphomet commented after she finished her meal.

The Amazoness had to admit that she was surprised when she saw her. While her having white fur rather than brown was normal, just like how some people were blonde while others ginger, not so much with the fact that she was an adult.

"Yeah, I know. Surprising, right?" The Warlock said, causing the Hunter to widened her eyes. "You're not going to believe how many 'you're a Baphomet' question that I received, from both humans and Mamono."

"Sorry about that," Rani said. "So, I take it you guys are close?"

"Not exactly. I was a loner before encountering them a day ago or two. And they were a once smaller group or loner as well. Right, guys?"

The other Guardians gave out a various form of confirmation.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what are you guys doing in Lescatie of all place? Trying to make an alliance with the Order?" The Warlock asked.

"Nothing like that." The Hunter waved her hand. "The city is about to be attacked by the Demon Lord's Army. We're currently planning to rescue as many of them as possible."

"I see." She put her hand on her chin. "Well, looks like we have our first mission from the City."

"If you want to help us, then you better get yourself acquainted with firearms and some of the tactics." The dark-skinned woman stated as she drew out a hand cannon. "Don't worry, there's a lot of them that you guys can try. There are also some Guardians here that can give a pointer or two."

Rani could hear the enthusiasm in their voices. They must have heard about the technologies of the Last City and stories of some Guardians from their Ghosts. Many of them were eager to give it a try and become like those in the stories.

A part of her wondered if they would remain this enthusiast after being on the receiving end of a Super or two.

* * *

"I can't believe it! You guys actually steal the remains of a hero!"

During the next night, Mary decided to do something else and left hunting down the Mamono infiltrators to other Guardians. One of the Ghosts had approached her and stated that she believed that she had found her Guardian. She asked her to recover it since the corpse was buried in the ground.

Which was why there was a corpse stealing occurring this night.

"I am pretty sure I have explained to you the nature of Guardians," Mary stated as the Ghost that asked for their help float around in joy. "Help me open the coffin, will you?"

"Well…yeah…but…still…" Primera was out of word. "You took a deceased…from their rest…"

"I don't think he will mind for long." The Titan retorted as she opened the coffin. "Speaking of which, why is there no guard in the graveyard? It's basically the site where your heroes are buried."

"Do I even need to explain it to you?" The elf's voice had so much sarcasm that you can cut it with a knife.

"Touché." She took a step back. "There you go, Ghost. Do it!"

"Of course!" The Ghost said excitedly as she approached her fated partner. "We finally meet, Guardian."

Sasha and Primera had to cover their eyes due to how bright the light that Ghost emitted. When it dissipated, it was replaced by the sound of a man gasping for air. It was then followed by the sound of the coffin breaking apart and a body falling into the floor.

When they uncovered their eyes, they couldn't help but shocked by what they saw. It was one thing to be explained about the nature of the Guardians. It was another thing entirely to witness it with their very own eyes.

The man slowly stood up, breathing in and out air after centuries of not having a heartbeat. His tattered ancient armor had been replaced with a simple, utilitarian armor. His eyes were slowly becoming more focused.

"Guardian? Guardian?" The Ghost floated in front of his face. "Can you hear me?"

"W-What…?" The recently resurrected Guardian opened his mouth for the first time. "Y-Yeah, I hear you…"

"Good! Man, you have no idea how long I have been looking for you! I lost count after a century and half!"

The Guardian tilted his head, still trying to get his bearing. He turned around when he felt a hand touching his shoulder, finding himself looking at the smiling face of Mary.

"Welcome back, Guardian." She greeted with and offered her hand.

He didn't know who was the woman in front of him. What he knew was that he could trust her. He nodded his head as his hand went to accept her hand, shaking it.

* * *

How long has she been lying on the bed?

Far too long, she already knew the answer. Her body, sick and weak ever since she was born, didn't even have enough strength for her to raise her hand to grab the ceiling. There was a time when she could walk around, playing games with her childhood friends, and in general, being normal if quite a timid child.

Those days had long gone past.

"_Why was I even being born at all?_"

A question that she frequently asked.

After the two of them were gone from her life, her health deteriorated to the point that she could no longer take even a step out of her bed. Every activity that she did must be assisted by servants. All of them hated her and wished to have nothing to do with her.

She couldn't blame them. After all, it must be troublesome to take care of a person as sick and weak as her.

Speaking about herself, she noticed a change within herself.

She didn't know when it exactly happened but she could feel her body slowly but steadily gaining strength. It was not much but she could feel it. She tried moving her limbs; something that she could do albeit with a lot of effort.

A part of her wondered if the Chief God finally listened to her wish and granted it.

She decided that tonight was the time.

Slowly, she moved her limbs to get out of her bed. With a lot of effort, she walked towards the door that led to the balcony of her room. Unable to stand up straightly, she was only able to move while slouching. She grabbed the knob and turned it, opening the door that separated her bedroom with the balcony.

As she walked towards the edge of the balcony, she raised her head, letting out a grunt of pain while doing so. For the first time in more than a decade, she had a clear view of the moon and the stars.

She made a small smile upon seeing it. It was a good sight. She was glad that it was the last thing that she saw.

"Elt…Mari…I am sorry…" She called upon the names of her only friends. "But...I have…to go…"

With that, she took a leap off the balcony, landing on the hard street below. She was still able to look at the night sky before finally succumbing to her wound, letting out her final breath.

With that, the life of Francisca Mistel Lescatie, the fourth princess of Lescatie, ended…

"I am sorry for not coming sooner, my companion."

…and the life of Francisca Mistel, a Guardian of the Last City, began.

* * *

**And the chapter is done. **

**If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me. **

**Review, please!**


	7. Of Memory and Loss

**Of Memory and Loss**

Lescatie was in a state of panic.

It was all started when one of the maids discovered the disappearance of Francisca Mistel Lescatie, the Fourth Princess of Lescatie. Well, it was the third maid actually. The first and second decided to remain quiet about it since they pretty much dislike the sickly princess. The third decided to do the opposite because she realized it could affect her income.

Then, there was the fact that the search didn't start as soon as possible but rather waiting for the debate between nobles and clergies on whether searching for Francisca would be worth it. It only ended when one of her sisters barged in and demanded them to search for her.

There was still a problem though; in the form of the guards being very not enthusiastic in finding her.

To say that Francisca was not liked was quite an understatement.

Despite that, there were a small number of people who really care about her. When the news about her disappearance reached them, they wasted no time in trying to find her.

* * *

Elt knew that it was a bad idea to simply grabbed his sword and ran through the city, district by district. Mersé would very likely give him an earful for what could be considered an abandonment of one's post. There was also the fact that he would have a much better chance of succeeding if he was with the rest of his squad.

However, the moment he heard that Francisca had disappeared, Elt couldn't wait even for just a second. He knew that his childhood friend was so sick that there was no way for her to just walk away from the palace; meaning that she was most likely taken away against her will.

"_Franny, please be safe._" He prayed in his mind.

His search had taken him into the slums of Lescatie. He always wondered why such places could exist despite the fact that the teaching of the Chief God told people to "love thy neighbors" and the people that lived in the slums were – without a doubt – the neighbors of the people that lived in the much-better housings.

This was not the time to think about that though. Now was the time to figure out where his childhood friend has been taken.

"Pssst, Elt…"

The young man stopped running and looked around, trying to find the one who called him. As he did so, he couldn't help but feel that the voice sounded very familiar.

"Over here, Elt…"

He looked at an alley and saw someone waving her hand. She stepped out of the alley and lowered the hood which covered her face. Elt couldn't help but widened his eyes; he recognized the young woman in front of him.

"Ma – I mean, Lady Noscrim, what are you doing here?!" He asked, unable to hide his shock. "And with those clothes?"

"I am blending with the crowds." Lady Noscrim, first name Wilmarina, explained before letting out a sigh. "The people above want me to do something…more important."

The man clenched his left hand. He had only heard rumors about it; Francisca has been described to be not liked by not just the servants of the royal palace but also her own family. While he already suspected it for being true due to reaction of her disappearance, Wilmarina's words confirmed it.

"I see," Elt said in return as he looked around. "You sure you won't get into trouble for choosing to look after Franny – I mean, Princess Francisca?"

"Eh, it's not like they can do much to me." Wilmarina shrugged. "You know who my…_father _is and it would look bad for them to stop their greatest hero from searching the lost princess."

"I guess that bastard finally has a use, huh?" He made a sour face before realizing who he was talking about. "Ah, I don't…"

"Don't worry, Elt. He _is _a bastard." She laughed a little before putting her hand on her ear. "Area clear. We're ready."

"Eh? What…?"

The two of them suddenly disappeared before he could finish his words.

* * *

The first thing in his mind was emptying his stomach. He was lucky that it has been hours since he last ate and thus, he didn't make the floor dirty.

"Sorry about that. Transmat can do that to people who experienced it for the first time." Wilmarina explained as she offered her hand.

"Who…are you?" Elt asked as he glared at her, not accepting the offer.

"Oh? You figure it out already?"

"I already have my suspicion. You speak too casually."

"I see." "Wilmarina" withdrew her hand before showing her palm again, this time with something floating above it. "Worry not, you can trust us."

The floating thing slowly approached the boy. He looked at it cautiously, ready to move back at a moment notice. As it moved closer, Elt finally understood what the woman that looked like his childhood friend said. Being a close acquittance of Mimil Miltie, he picked up a trick or two from her.

"You…you're blessed by the Chief God." He stated upon recognizing the energy that was emitted.

"Not really." She said while giggling. "Anyway, the name's Mary."

"I…see…" He was quite surprised by how similar her name was with the nickname of his friend. "You can call me Ethan."

"Well, Ethan. Sorry about basically kidnapping you." Mary scratched her head awkwardly. "However, there's someone that needs your presence."

"Who?" He asked as he stood up from the floor.

"Just follow me."

Elt followed Mary as they walked through the corridor. Any suspicion that he had earlier was gone. She was after all possessing holy energy that only the heroes of the Order possessed. While she claimed that it was not the Chief God that blessed her, she was still a hero nonetheless.

As they walked, he couldn't help but wonder the location they currently were. Looking through the windows, the boy saw nothing but the night sky filled with stars. For some reason, they were brighter compared to usual. He also noticed that the material used to build the corridor – and thus the building – was not one that he was familiar with.

"Here we are!" Mary declared as a door in front of her suddenly opened on its own. "Eve, how is she taking it?"

"Not my area of expertise but quite well if you asked me."

Elt noticed the bluish-gray-skinned woman inside the room. He wondered if she was some kind of elf before setting his eyes on another figure in the room. His eyes became as wide as a saucer as he immediately knew just who was sitting there.

It was none other than Francisca Mistel Lescatie, the Fourth Princess of the Theocracy and his childhood friend. She looked different in that her hair was much shorter and braided while looking a lot healthier to the point that there was no trace of her illness.

It was, however, without doubt, definitely her.

"Franny!" Elt exclaimed as he dashed towards the princess. "Are you alright? Why are you here? Why did you disappear from the palace?"

"Your voice…" Francisca said softly. "…Elt…?"

"Y-Yeah…" The boy replied. She likely didn't recognize him due to years of separation. "It's me. Elt. Your friend. You remember when we played together along with Mari, right?"

"…Mari…" She squinted her eyes as if struggling to remember. "Your voice…there's another voice…a female one…Mari's…"

"Franny…?" He looked at her worriedly. "I…Is there something wrong?"

"I don't…" The princess shook her head. "Your voice…Mari's…few things that I…I don't remember…my family…"

"What…?"

"Hey, kid." Mary put her hand on his shoulder, getting the attention of the red-haired man. "This is going to be a long talk."

* * *

"I see…" Sasha lowered her head after hearing the news. "To think that she would go that far…"

"Damn, I know those jerks aren't the best of the people but still…" Mimil commented. "So, what now?"

"For now, we're currently helping Francisca acclimating with her new life as a Guardian," Hector replied as he looked outside, seeing several guards patrolling the street. "Her disappearance did, however, cause quite a complication in taking care of the remaining infiltrators. Guardians aren't exactly expert in stealth."

"The patrol will be increased in order to find Her Highness. More and more as the day passed and people start to get worried." The nun concluded.

"Indeed." The Warlock nodded. "We need someone who can take care of the Mamono while remaining undetected."

"Amanomiya clan…"

"Pardon?"

"It's the name of a monster-slayer clan from Zipangu, located in the Far East. I worked alongside one of them once and if you need someone to take care of a Mamono swiftly and silently, they're ones for the job."

"I shall look for them, then." The two of them turned their attention to the mage, who cleared her throat. "Something wrong, Mimil?"

"Well, I have a request to make. Kind of selfish considering its nature but after hearing how much the preparation has been made by the Mamono to invade the nation, I have to at least give it a try." She gave the explanation before taking a deep breath. "Can you evacuate my parents early?"

"Huh?" Hector didn't expect the request.

"I don't exactly have the best relationship with them. They don't see me as simply their child anymore after I was recruited. I can't blame them though since my monthly payment is more than what they could make in their entire lives and I guess they're just afraid of making me angry." Mimil explained more. "In any case, they're my parents, I still love them, and I want them to be saved."

Silence fell upon them after the mage finished her words. Hector put his hand on his chin, thinking about the answer that he should give. After a while, he looked at Mimil eye-to-eye.

"While I can't promise that we could do that, I'll see if we can fulfill your request."

"Thank you." She smiled and nodded her head.

"Good." Hector turned his head to the table near them. "Now, would you kindly get off of the table?"

A Guardian, who had been standing on the table this whole time, simply shrugged and hopped off before going elsewhere. The two heroes looked as the man walked away before looking at the Warlock while pointing at the Guardian.

"You'll get used to it." Was the only thing he said.

* * *

"It's very simple. Make sure the rear sight and front sight are aligned with each other and aimed at your target."

"Like…this…?"

"Let me see… Yeah, like this. Now give the baby a try!"

_BANG _

"Well, you miss. But it's good enough for a newbie like you. So, don't feel too bad."

Elt merely sighed as Adam patted him on the back. He put down the sidearm that has been borrowed to him and looked around the gun range, seeing several Guardians testing their skill with firearms. His eyes, however, were focused on his childhood friend; something that he hoped could still be used.

It was a shock to him when he found out that Francisca had committed suicide. The only reason he was able to speak with his supposedly-deceased friend was thanks to a Ghost who resurrected her as a Guardian. However, it came at the cost of her memory.

At least, most of it. Francisca still possessed a little bit of her memory but not much. She remembered the voices of her childhood friends, Elt and Wilmarina, but not so much with their faces. It was still unknown how much that she remembered but it didn't look good; the Hunter didn't even remember her family, the royal family of Lescatie.

In order to lighten the mood, Adam decided to take them to the gun range where they could try some weapons and tested their skills. While Elt obviously was not exactly good with one, Francisca showed a remarkable skill for someone who never holds even a knife in her entire life. While he was unable to hit even one of the targets, the complete opposite happened to her.

"For Light's sake, you're going to use that against them?! I mean, I know how awesome that hand cannon is and they're servants of the Darkness but still…"

Curious, Elt decided to turn his attention towards Adam, who he saw was speaking with Mary. The Titan was currently holding a black hand cannon in her hand, firing it towards the targets.

_BANG BANG _

When he looked at the targets, he could understand what Adam had just said. Rather than normal bullets, the hand cannon somehow fired inch-long cross-shaped spikes. When he looked back at the gun, the red-haired man could feel misery and despair coming from it. He wondered how many atrocities committed using it.

Judging from the Exo's lines, Mary intended on using it against the Mamono that wanted to invade Lescatie. He could only pray that they received a swift, painless death.

"I know. This is, however, one of the best weapons that I have in my inventory." The Titan stated as she twirled her hand cannon. "Lives are at stake and I am going to do my best to save as many of them."

"Yeah. But to the point of using it…" Adam said worriedly.

"Worry not. I won't become _him_." Mary assured her friend as she looked at the hand cannon in her hand.

She still remembered that day.

* * *

"_You want me to what?!" _

"_I want you to create a replica of the Weapon of Sorrow wielded by Dredgen Yor. I am sure my sentence contains no riddle." _

_In a deserted, rarely-visited part of the Tower, Mary was having a conversation with Eris Morn, a Hunter shunned by other Guardians due to spending years hiding among the Hive. While the Titan could understand their behaviors, she also felt that it was unfair for her to received the treatment, especially with Eris being the only survivor of her fireteam. Due to that, she decided to try and approached her. _

_She wondered if it was not too late to change her opinion. _

"_Oh, I see. I guess I don't mishear you asking me to CREATE A REPLICA OF THORN!" She exclaimed hard. "I know some Guardians make me go nuts, I am sure you understand the feeling, but I have no wish for them to die!" _

"_I understand your fear." Eris simply nodded her head. "The creation of the replica is but a small piece of the puzzle that has to be solved to ensure humanity safety from the Hive." _

"_How are the two of them related?" _

"_The Hive performs dark rituals powered by the energy taken from the Deep, which is their name for the Darkness. This action created a necrotic bound between the physical world in which we reside and the dimension…" _

"_OK, OK. Just keep it to yourself." Mary could already feel herself getting a headache. "I'll go to the most important part; I have no wish of becoming the second coming of _that _Guardian." _

"_You won't." The Hunter assured her, sounding unoffended by what the Titan said earlier. "This replica, when it is done, will be unable to corrupt you." _

"_Alright. Ikora trusts you and I shall do the same. Many are afraid of you but I know that you're still on our side." _

_Eris merely smiled in return. It did nothing to calm Mary down regarding her given task. _

* * *

She didn't know what caused her to be crazy enough to finish the task. Despite being a mere replica, it acted way too much like a weapon of Darkness for her comfort. She could hear it whispering, demanding to be fed the suffering of her enemies.

Fortunately, it disappeared and the Thorn replica became "merely" a weapon that emitted dark and uncomfortable atmosphere. When she told Eris about this, she told her that when she took the mission to eliminate Phogoth, the Untamed, she also killed a Wizard by the name of Xyor, the Unwed. The deaths of the two of them, along with several other Hives, "satisfied" the replica and "purified" it.

While the Vanguard was uneasy with her possessing a replica of Dredgen Yor's weapon, they allowed her to keep it. They also ordered her to not use it during the Crucible and kept its existence a secret.

Only a few of her friends knew about the Thorn Replica – they can be counted by her fingers – and that was because she decided to use it when a mission went south. They agreed to keep it a secret as well though that didn't stop them from worrying.

"Are you really, _really _sure?" The Exo asked again. "I am also pretty sure this should be a secret."

"Yes, I am. Others are either new and thus won't recognize the significance of the hand cannon or would be too busy shooting and rescuing." The Titan replied. "If there's a fallout, I'll deal with it myself."

Mary let out a breath before aiming down Thorn at the targets. She must be ready when the invasion finally came.

* * *

"What…the…fuck…"

When he arrived at Zipangu, Hector admitted that he had no idea on how to request help from the Amanomiya clan. He was thinking of mentioning Sasha or even bullshitting his way through. It was revealed to be unnecessary.

The estate that belonged to the monster-slayers was burning. Bodies scattered around the place.

The Warlock took out a scout rifle and went inside. For several minutes, the only sign of life that he detected was grunting from several people on the ground, heavily wounded rather than dying.

Suddenly, he heard several people screaming. He ran towards the source and found himself arriving at a garden, seeing people with polearms running away. Not even a moment later a solar arc hit all of them, causing an explosion and their bodies to disintegrate.

"Oh, come on," Hector complained as he realized who attacked the estate.

A Dawnblade Warlock.

* * *

Days have passed ever since the disappearance of Princess Francisca. The royal family was getting restless and had basically demanded all patrol to be increased and intensified. Now, even the heroes, who were previously doing their usual assignment, were being deployed to find the missing princess.

For Wilmarina Noscrim, the strongest hero of Lescatie, that permission came _way _too late. She already searched for her childhood friend the moment she heard about her disappearance.

"Lady Noscrim…please…take a rest…" One of her subordinates asked her.

"We can't, Lucian. Her Highness is still out there." She retorted. "Until we make sure that she is safe, we shall take no rest."

"It's been days, for Chief God's sake!" Another of them exclaimed. "If we don't rest, how would we be able to save her? Look, your eyes already have bags!"

Wilmarina stopped walking and rubbed her eye. Just as she said, there was a bag under her eye. Likely on the other one as well. She also noticed that her hair was disheveled and her outfit was starting to smell.

How long has it been since she took a rest?

The hero let out a sigh and looked at her subordinates. They were just as restless as she was; some were even trying to not fall asleep.

"Sorry about that. You're right." She nodded her head. "Let's take a rest, shall we?"

While she couldn't hear what exactly they said, Wilmarina knew that they were agreeing with her decision. Without further ado, they walked to find a place where they could get a rest.

As they walked, Wilmarina thought about the clue that they found regarding the location of Francisca, which was basically nothing. All that they knew was that the door of her balcony was opened when her disappearance was discovered. Added with how the Fourth Princess was known to be heavily ill to the point of unable to even walk, it was likely that she was taken away by someone.

Speaking about Francisca, she wondered if she could have Elt being put under her command until she was found. The two of them were the only friends that the princess had and she could make an excuse that – unlike her - he still remembered that time quite well and thus might discover a clue that she missed.

Wilmarina knew the chance was low but she should at least try. She _really _missed him.

"Hey, this part of the slum is better compared to the rest."

"This area frequently received alms from the merchants of Bastion. What do you expect?"

Merchants of Bastion. She had heard about them. Coming from a land beyond the ocean, they bring with them products never seen before. Not only that, they were selling cheap food for the common mass and even sometimes giving alms.

Her father always wondered why they did that. She really struggled to not snark about how what they were doing was more in line with the teachings of the Chief God compared to him.

"Speaking about them, do you think they are…?"

"Oh, come on! Do you know how suspicious it will be? There are many factors involved that make them the culprits very…"

"So, that Hunter, she was a princess, right?"

Wilmarina and the rest of the Order of the Ice Flower immediately stopped talking upon hearing that line. They remained silent, some even to the point of holding their breath. That could be a clue that they had been searching this whole time.

"Shh, keep your voice down!"

"Relax. Not many people here and they usually don't care about the business of others."

"Alright. As for your question, yes, she was a princess. The fourth if I am not wrong."

Eureka!

Wilmarina gave her subordinates a sign to keep quiet. While some of them were grumbling that they wouldn't be resting, many more were eager to solve the situation once and for all. They silently approached the two people who were having a conversation about a "fourth princess."

From the corner, she saw that those two people were wearing clothes worn by the merchants of Bastion, especially the cape and hood. It was not solid evidence of their involvement though for those same clothes were also getting popular among the people of Lescatie due to how comfortable yet cheap they were.

She would know. Some of her subordinates, like Eba and Lucian, had begun to wear them as their casual clothes.

"Shit, that could explain why there are more guards in the street."

"_That's _exactly why. Don't you listen to the explanation?"

"Eh, I got bored."

"As expected of a Hun… Ah, shit. She's now one of you!"

"You said that as if it's a bad thing."

"Because it is."

"After spending who-knows-how-long lying on a bed, it's better for her to spend times in the wilderness rather than the library."

Wilmarina's face became serious. It was more than enough to confirm it; whoever these people were, Francisca was currently with them.

"So, it is them after all!"

"We don't know for sure. For all we know, they use those clothes to put the blame on the merchants."

"Anyway, should we take them for interrogation?"

"Don't." The hero ordered. "Let's follow them, see if they'll lead us to their hiding place."

"Um, Lady Noscrim?"

"What is…?"

When Eba called her, Wilmarina turned around to look at the boy. She didn't finish her words because she immediately knew why he called for her attention. Others, curious about her behavior, turned around and saw them.

Apparently, when they were busy spying on the pair, several floating things were gathering behind them and were now looking at them with their one eye.

* * *

One moment, they were hiding behind a corner in the slum of Lescatie.

The next moment, the entire scenery changed.

"Holy shit!"

"Uggh…"

"The hell happened?!"

"Ouch!"

Wilmarina immediately tried to stand up. She could feel her stomach trying to empty its content. Fortunately, it was empty and thus she didn't puke. When she looked around, her eyes became as wide as a saucer and she froze where she stood.

The place they were currently in appeared to be some kind of cafeteria, judging from the food, chairs, tables, and the people eating them. Said people were currently looking at them, equally shocked.

Oh, and some of them just so happened to be Mamono.

_PING _

"_Hello, this is Adam. I am here to inform you that some Lescatian guards detected our fellow in the city and thus we transmated them to here. Unfortunately, there's a slight miscalculation and now they could be anywhere in the…wait, wait! Never mind, they are in the cafeteria. Go there and…arrest them? Yeah, let's just use that word. Arrest them and bring them to the brig to be sorted out._"

_PING _

As soon as the sudden voice disappeared, Wilmarina noticed that the air was getting tense. The people that were previously eating put away their food and focused on her and her subordinates, who heard the announcement as well.

When she noticed someone, the hero set her eyes on her, finding herself face-to-face with a rather tall white-haired Baphomet. She was calmly drinking from a cup of tea in her hands. She then put it on the nearby table before pointing at them.

"Get them."

All hell broke loose.

* * *

Upon hearing the PA, Francisca – who was spending her time trying to recover as many memories as she could – ran towards the cafeteria. While she didn't remember the part of her being a princess, she could use it to order the Lescatian guards to stand down and let Shaxx and others explained.

When the door was opened and the Hunter entered the cafeteria, she was stunned and rendered speechless by what she saw.

The entire thing had devolved into a food fight. For the Guardians at least. The Lescatians were using swords, magic, and one was actually using what could be considered a hand cannon.

Because many of them were new Guardians, they were easily killed by the more experienced soldiers. It didn't mean much though since their respective Ghost would resurrect them and each death gave them something to learn.

Then there were also the more experienced Guardians among them, like Rani who managed to tackle the Lescatian boy with a book and a Warlock – a Far Easterner from her look – who effortlessly dodged the swings of two swordswomen.

What was her name again? Amanomiya?

"ATTENTION!"

Upon hearing the word, everyone stopped whatever they were doing, Lescatians and Guardians alike. It resulted in a rather comical scene of some people about to punch each other but stopped midway.

"Wow. Of all thing I expect, this is _not _one of them."

"What, the guards turn out to be heroes?"

"No. The fact that food fight occurred in a life-or-death situation."

"Eh, it's Tuesday for us."

* * *

"L-Lord Shaxx?!" Wilmarina exclaimed. "M-Mimil Miltie?!"

Of all people that she expected to be involved in Francisca's disappearance, the two of them were the last people in her mind. Heck, she didn't even consider them a suspect. While she only ever seen him during the meeting between the merchants and the king, Shaxx came out as someone that was honorable and a genuine knight. And then there was Mimil Miltie who was a fellow hero of the Order.

"Hello there, Lady Noscrim." Mimil greeted her with a voice full of sarcasm. "In case you're wondering, yes, I am the genuine article. No, you and I are not the only Lescatian here."

"There's more?!" Lucian exclaimed.

The door of the cafeteria opened once again and the Order of the Ice Flower was more than shocked upon seeing the person who entered; it was none other than Sasha Fullmoon, one of the highest-ranking heroes in the city and Wilmarina's superior, which translated to being their superior as well.

"Stand down. They are on our side." The nun immediately gave the order.

"Our side?! Some of them are mons…"

"Stand. Down!" She emphasized the words and squinted her eyes. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice."

They looked around the cafeteria and saw that there was no casualty among the Mamono, much to their surprise. They were very sure that at the very least one of them would be wounded by now. Furthermore, they lacked sufficient rest and were not in an optimal condition.

Thus, they chose the easy way; lowering their weapons and let the situation calmed down.

"Good." Sasha nodded her head before looking at an Amazoness that was pinning down Eba. "Rani, let him go."

The Mamono, Rani, simply stood up and walked back from the boy, who immediately stood up and ran towards his fellow heroes. The attention of the people in the cafeteria went towards Shaxx after he cleared his throat.

"Alright. Now that we can talk without trying to kill each other, at least for you guys…" He said as he gestured at the Ice Flowers. "…first thing first, we're sorry about this whole event but we don't have much choice."

"What do you mean by that?" Vermut asked.

"We simply need Lady Wilmarina Noscrim. However, for days she spent her time alongside you and thus we saw little option and decided to bring not only her but also her entire order of heroes."

"Why do you need me?" Said hero squinted her eyes, tightening the hand that held her sword.

Rather than answering immediately, Shaxx walked towards a person wearing a hood. He grabbed the hood – much to the surprise of the woman, judging from her voice – and lowered it. Wilmarina could hear her subordinates gasped. It was only her strict training that she was able to show no reaction albeit barely.

That woman was the missing Fourth Princess of Lescatie, Francisca Mistel Lescatie. Wilmarina remembered how, when she was just a little girl and a playmate of the princess along with Elt, she was too ill to stand up properly for a long time. Now, there was no sign of the illness that plagued her.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" Wilmarina approached her. "How's your condition? Have you been cured of your illness?"

"Your voice…" Francisca opened her mouth; eyes widened a bit in recognition. "Mari…?"

"Err, yes, I am Mari. It's…the nickname given by you and Elt." The hero replied awkwardly.

"Can you…" She looked unsure regarding her request. "Can you say this: 'That's a nice doll that you have, Franny.'"

"T-That's a nice doll that you have, Franny." Now she was getting worried. "W-Why are you asking me this?"

Before Francisca – or anyone else for that matter – could answer the question, there was a sound of someone collapsing. When the two of them looked at the source, they saw that it was one of Wilmarina's subordinate.

"Alameria?! Alameria!" Olivier knelt and shook her fellow Musketeer. "What's wrong? Tell me!"

The hero, Alameria, was grunting and closed her eyes as tight as she could in pain.

"My…strength…" She tried to make a sentence. "…no…more…"

"I need a medical team in the cafeteria ASAP!" Shaxx stated to a floating thing in his hand.

Wilmarina and Francisca looked at each other before looking at Sasha and Mimil, both just as confused as them.

* * *

**And it's done. **

**If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me. **

**Review, please! **


	8. The Dark Above

**The Dark Above **

Inside the infirmary, Lord Shaxx watched as the medical Frame inserted the IV needle into the right arm of Alameria. She was now dressed in a hospital gown, still as weak as how she suddenly became upon her arrival. The Titan turned his head to look at her companions, all waiting at the door, looking at her worriedly.

"Let's go." He stated as he exited the infirmary. "Give her time to rest."

"Do you know what happens to her?" Olivier asked, keeping her eyes on her fellow musketeer as long as possible.

"I asked my partner to do some check." Shaxx replied as his Ghost appeared beside him. "What do you get?"

"Alameria Crescentria emitted a _very _dim Demonic Energy and no Spirit Energy at all." The Ghost stated. "Conclusion; she's a Mamono. Likely a Dhampir."

"Wait, what?!" Paula exclaimed. "But…how…like…she's a hero…she prayed…why…"

It was not only her that was shocked. The other members of the Order of the Ice Flower were no less surprised, especially Wilmarina who seemed to be letting out cold swears and her eyes were losing their focus. Sasha and Mimil on the other hand simply raised an eyebrow.

"I want to say that I am surprised but…" The mage said before sighing. "Sasha, one of the nuns in the orphanage is a Dhampir as well, right?"

"Correct. It's also likely that they are not the only Dhampirs in Lescatie." The nun sighed as well. "Or the Order nation for that matter."

"The incompetence of your organization is mind-boggling." The Titan commented before looking at the young hero. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

"Huh?" Wilmarina didn't expect to be questioned.

"One of your subordinates has been revealed to be a Mamono. Or rather a monster in your term. I have read about what the Order would do when they capture one and…"

"Absolutely not!"

Everyone turned their attention towards Olivier. There was no more shock or even surprise on her face. All of it has been replaced with stern dedication. Her left hand rested on the handle of her sword and her hat lowered, giving her quite an intimidating image.

"Lady Cre…no, Alameria has been a beloved friend and colleague and companion of mine for years. All this time, she has behaved as nothing less but a hero that every good men and women should look up for." She stated with her most stern tone. "A monster she maybe in body, she's a human in heart and soul. That is without a doubt."

"That's right! Alameria is a good woman! Nothing but perfection from what I see!" Paula joined in. "Well, there's actually this one time…"

"Paula!" Olivier chided her before looking at Wilmarina. "Lady Noscrim, I know this…scandal would be unacceptable for your father. However, our order possesses some of the best heroes in Lescatie, including you. I am not saying that this will be an easy fight but we can prevail. I am sure of it."

Before she could give a reply to her subordinate, Shaxx spoke up first.

"You have nothing to worry about." The Titan stated. "Lescatie will be gone and none of you will have to deal with the fallout and political bullshit."

Slowly, eyes of the heroes of Lescatie – with Sasha and Mimil being the exception – went towards him. Wilmarina stared at him hard.

"Explain yourself at once!" She demanded.

"Lilim invasion." Shaxx simply replied, causing their eyes to went wide. "Come, I'll show you."

* * *

At a shooting range, Elt calmly aimed the targets using a sidearm. He controlled his breath several times before finally pulling the trigger. Once he emptied the magazine, the boy looked at the result; much better than his first time since the majority of the bullets hit the targets albeit not at the bullseye.

"You're getting better, Elt."

He turned his head to look at the one who commend him, finding himself eye-to-eye with Francisca, hood down and a hand cannon on her hip holster.

"T-Thanks, Franny." He replied, still feeling uncomfortable with her…situation.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you training so much with the sidearm?" The Hunter asked. "I am sure you've been training a lot with spear and sword."

"Well, I guess you can say that I am decent with both." Elt began his explanation as he reloaded his gun. "However, monsters are more physically powerful compared to average humans. You need to be a hero or something to be able to defeat them on an even ground. I am not one, so I am trying to stack the deck in my favor."

"I can understand that." The former princess nodded her hand. "Other Hunters told me that fighting fair is only for fools."

"Y-Yeah. They…h-have a point…" Elt couldn't help but feel uncomfortable of Francisca being…dishonorable combatant.

Look, he knew it was a good way to stay alive and would have no problem with it. It simply didn't fit her image, OK?

Francisca walked towards an empty stand and grabbed her hand cannon. When the targets showed up, she immediately took the gun out and fired it without aiming. Her hand that was usually either free or grabbing the handle with the other hand was on the hammer of the hand cannon, hitting it each time the trigger was pulled.

While it was obviously less accurate compared to when aiming, Francisca hit her targets faster in exchange for the decrease in accuracy. After all of the bullet has been spent, the Hunter reloaded her weapon. Seeing the result, Elt couldn't help but smile.

"Nice technique." He praised, causing her to smile in return.

"By the way, I met with her. Another childhood friend of ours." She suddenly stated. "Mari."

"Wait, Mari?! She was one of the guards that Adam mentioned?" Elt said in shock. Francisca nodded in response. "The others…are they the Holy Ice Flower too?"

"Who?" The former princess tilted her head.

"Ah, right. Sorry. I forgot that you…" The boy tried to not mention the painful fact. "Anyway, they are heroes working under Mari."

"Then they are likely them." The Hunter shrugged. "One of them spoke to Mari with a lot of respect for someone as young as her."

"Mari's one of the best heroes so it's a given." Elt seemed to be wondering about something. "Say, does one of them is a girl with large sword on her back and blonde hair barely reaching the shoulders?"

"There's one." Francisca looked at him. "You know her?"

"Yeah, Lucian. I once met her before during my early days in the military."

"Interesting." She summoned her Ghost. "Tell them there's another one for the pool?"

"What…pool…?" He had a feeling that he wouldn't like the answer.

"After realizing how many, in their own words, 'hot chicks' that you're acquainted with, several Guardians have made a betting pool on which one that you will…" The former princess sighed. "...I'll use my own words; the one that you will have an intercourse with."

"What?!"

* * *

"You know, one of these days, you must teach me how you did it."

"Huh?"

Inside the shop of merchants of Bastion, Mary and Amanomiya Koyoi were preparing for another strike to eliminate the Mamono infiltrators in Lescatie. The latter was sharpening her sword while the former was cleaning her sidearm.

"The thing that you did back then." Mary stated as she looked at the barrel. "You killed both of them right in front of civilians yet they didn't notice a thing."

"Ah, that." Koyoi nodded her head as she focused back on her sword. "Not sure if I can do that. I am not exactly good when it comes to teaching and you don't have any spirit energy."

"Well, that's a shame. Then again, stealth is never something that a Guardian is very good at."

The Zipanguese woman stopped moving and merely stared at her sword. Mary, who almost finished reassembling her weapon, looked at her in confusion.

"Is there something wrong?" The Titan asked.

"My sister...she's..." Koyoi tried to make a coherent sentence. "She's a Guardian, right?"

"Yep." She nodded her head. "A Warlock, to be precise."

"She saved us from our clan. And yet..." The monster slayer was in pain. "...she barely recognized us."

"Well, if it makes you any better..." Mary closed her eyes. "...she recognized the two of you enough to went back and rescued you."

"...I suppose..."

After the two of them finished taking care of their weapons, they exited the building and went towards their destination.

"So, where do we head next?" Koyoi asked.

"A small church near the slums. Not exactly abandoned but there's barely anyone there." Mary replied.

"It will be an easy one, then."

"...let's also hope you don't just jinxed us."

* * *

"...and that's why we created this entire evacuation plan." Shaxx stated with a steady voice.

He waited for a minute. Then another. When the fourth minute ended, the Crucible Handler let out a sigh and shook his head. He rubbed his helmet for a while before clearing his throat and spoke up.

"Don't you have something better to do than simply standing around like fools?" He stated to the heroes in front of him.

"Wha..." Wilmarina closed her mouth immediately before shaking her head. "Excuse me, I just find out that the entire kingdom that I – that we have sworn to defend – is _compromised _to the point that the only thing that we could do is to evacuate as many people as we can!"

"Is...is that _really _our only option?" Lucian asked hesitantly. "Lescatie is not just a mere nation; it's one of the strongest and have trained many heroes ever since its foundation. I am sure we could..."

"Perhaps. But considering how your food have been tainted, all that it takes is a little bit more demonic energy and..." Shaxx didn't feel the need to explain further.

He didn't need to. The heroes were looking at each other, many trying to not look at their companions in the eyes. It was clear that all of them were afraid of the possibility of becoming a monster, which was very big.

The fear didn't last long, for it was replaced by shock when a certain event occurred.

Without any warning, a Hunter jumped onto a table and started to perform a dance from the pre-Golden Age called "the Carlton." While other Guardians didn't pay any attention and Sasha and Mimil simply giggled at the sight of a grown-up man dancing on the table, the heroes looked as if the Chief God and the Demon Lord were drinking together while drunkenly singing Kumbaya.

"Guardian, please stop." Shaxx ordered the Hunter, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice. "I think you're giving our guests a stroke."

While the Hunter did stop dancing, that was not the only thing that she did. She put a hand on her waist while another was used to point at the heroes before giving them a thumb down and then jumping off the table. They kept staring at her even as she exited the room.

"H-How?!" Vermut opened her mouth, ending the silence. "She...she's a...and...yet..."

"Welcome to the world of Guardians." Mimil stated in a teasing tone. "Unlike us heroes, they know how to have fun even during the darkest of time."

"You can say that many of them are children in adult body." Sasha tried to show a little sympathy.

"But...dancing on the table..." Even Wilmarina was shocked by what she saw.

"Oh, you sweet summer child." The magician said before laughing. "What you just saw was merely the surface."

Before any more shock could be delivered, the door was opened and followed by the sounds of a pair of people running. Everyone turned their attention towards them, finding themselves seeing Mary – who had her head covered by a hood – and Koyoi to be the runners.

"Hey, err, funny question." Mary said before awkwardly laughing. "Want to know how a Kunoichi would react if she witnessed her closest friends being killed?"

While others reacted in confusion – some looking at people near them while others raised their eyebrows – Shaxx remained silent for a while before opening his mouth; voice full of incredulousness.

"You're spotted, aren't you?" The Crucible Handler stated.

"Well...yeah." The fellow Titan decided to not beat around the bush.

"Have you told anyone else?"

"I do intend on informing Lord Saladin and the Van..."

"THEN WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! GO, NOW!" The shout caused her to immediately turn around and exited the room. "As for you, Guardians, go and do something productive!"

Soon, Shaxx was the only Guardian in the room. He then turned his attention towards Sasha and Mimil, who immediately stood straight upon finding themselves under his stare.

"Escort the ladies to your quarter." He ordered them before taking another look at the Ice Flowers. "And that boy."

As Eba felt embarrassed of being pointed out, Shaxx exited the room. The green-haired nun cleared her throat, causing people to look at her.

"Follow me, please." She said to them.

* * *

With the Mamono now finding out that their infiltrators have been eliminated, the Guardians had decided to launch a preemptive attack against them.

"Come on! Is that all you can do?" Adam taunted the Werewolves as he fired his hand cannon.

In preparation to invade Lescatie, the Demon Army had deployed several groups of scouts to collect information regarding their targets; the same groups that were currently being attacked by teams of Guardians.

One of the groups, a pack of Werewolves, was being attacked by a team of three Hunters; Adam, Rani, and Alberto.

For the lack of a better word, Adam was "dancing" around the Werewolves. Lacking any mean to attack from the distance, they had no choice but to close their distance towards the Exo. He kept them at bay with the combination of his hand cannon and knives. When they were too close, he jumped away while leaving behind a Tripmine Grenade, causing the Werewolves to be killed by the explosion.

Rani, on the other hand, decided to take the fight to the Werewolves. Armed with a pair of knives and enhanced by Arc power, the Amazoness cut her way through one Mamono after another. Helping her even more was the fact that the Werewolves were still trying to comprehend the fact that a Mamono was willing to use lethal force against fellow Mamono.

Supporting from their rear was Alberto with his bow. The Elf not only took potshots at the distracted Werewolves, he also threw Grenade after Grenade, causing chaos in the field, stacking the deck in the Guardians' favor.

"That's enough!"

Hearing the shout, Rani defended herself from an attack. Her knives caught the blade of a sword. Before the attacker could do anything else, she performed a Gambler's Dodge. With a distance being made between them, the Hunter now had a clear view on her attacker.

She was a Werewolf that looked different compared to the rest of the pack. Some part of her fur had turned grey, her muscle was riper, and there were scars on her body; ones that could only be made on a battlefield.

This one was, without any doubt, the Alpha Wolf of the pack.

"You used a sword rather than your claws." Rani spoke up. "Former soldier?"

"Right on the mark." The Alpha replied as she squinted her eyes. "I must say, of all people that I expect to try to kill my family, a fellow Mamono is not among them. So, _imagine _my surprise."

"Well, my kind is not known to be kind." The Hunter twirled one of her knives. "Hey, that rhymed!"

"The Amazonesses might be rather...rough but those people know better than to kill innocent women!" She held her sword harder. "You're a disgrace to not only your people but also the Mamono as a whole!"

"Sorry if you're not a fan of a Guardian." She said with a mocking tone.

"Bah, you're no 'guardian!' You're just a killer!" The Alpha raised her sword. "Prepare your – What?!"

When they were busy talking, Alberto activated his Super and hit one of the Werewolves with a Shadowshot. Void tethers emerged from the orb that replaced her; the leader of the pack being one of those unlucky enough to be within the distance.

Seeing her distracted by the tether, Rani threw a Flux Grenade at her opponent, which landed right on her face.

"Hey, what the...?!"

_BOOOM_

It exploded before she could finish her words. As her body fell to the ground, it and the explosion didn't go unnoticed by the remaining members of the pack. With their leader's death, any remaining resistance fell apart and they began to run away.

Not like the Hunters would let them escape.

* * *

When they were taken to a room, Sasha suddenly asked Wilmarina to come with her since some people wanted to talk with her. After assuring her subordinates and companions that she would be fine, the nun took her to another room. When they entered, the strongest hero of Lescatie saw Francisca twirling a gun and...

"E-Elt?!" She was unable to stop herself from shouting.

"H-Hey, Mari...I mean, Lady Noscrim...I mean..." The boy stuttered.

"Elt, just throw away all formality." Sasha told him. "Whatever differences both of you have, right now, the two of you are simply old friends reuniting with each other."

The two of them simply look at the nun before staring at each other. The former princess stopped playing with her hand cannon and joined in as well.

"Well, the three of us are childhood friends. So, I am sure talking without any consideration would be no problem." Francisca stated.

"I...won't exactly put it like that..." Elt commented as he scratched his head. "But I admit that being able to spend time with the two of you, uncaring of others, just like during our childhood, is something that I wish to happen again."

Wilmarina kept staring at the only childhood friends that she had. While she did find camaraderie among her fellow heroes, especially those that were part of the same order as her, deep within she desired to once again met with them.

Especially...

"Y-Yeah..." She spoke up, blush formed on her face. "It's...It's nice to see both of you again."

"Well, I don't exactly have much memory regarding our..." Francisca immediately shut her mouth but it was too late. "Oh, dear...I..."

Silence fell upon the room. Sasha, realizing the atmosphere, decided to take several steps away from the trio; far enough to give them a room but close enough to offer a hand if needed.

"Why...?" Wilmarina was the first to break the silence. Her voice was soft and trembling. "Why do you not remember our childhood...?"

"Well, Mari, look..." Elt tried to explain the situation. "You see, Franny...she..."

"Elt, you still remember, right?" She was on the verge of crying. "Our...our time..."

"O-Of course! That is the best time in my life!" He immediately answered. "Franny, she..."

"Oh, stop beating the bush, will you?" Francisca's Ghost suddenly appeared. "Just tell her why! You already told him!"

"Crown, I don't think that's a good..." She tried to stop her Ghost but to no avail.

"Why she doesn't remember her time as a child and more?" The Ghost, Crown, said to Wilmarina. "Simple. Being dead could cause wonders to mind."

"Dead? What do you mean by that? Franny is..."

"Suicide."

Wilmarina closed her mouth upon hearing that word came from the former princess who tried to not look at her in the eyes. Crown turned his attention towards his companion. After a while, Francisca looked at him and nodded her head.

"When I saw my partner for the first time, I found her lying on her bed, unable to move much. She lied there, considered to be nothing _but something that would be better thrown away_." The sheer venom in his voice surprised others in the room. "Huh, worse than useless? Oh, I'll show them! The two of us will carved our names among the stars! We will..."

"Crown, calm down." Francisca patted her Ghost. "They could cause no more problem for us."

"Yeah, you're right." Crown cleared his non-existent throat. "Anyway, I watched as she wasted away day by day, calling the two of you in a voice so weak that wind could silence it."

Elt and Wilmarina winced upon hearing that. Whatever trouble that happened to them after the three of them were separated, it was nothing compared to Francisca's.

"Then, one day, she could rise from her bed. With her newfound-strength, she went to the balcony..." The Ghost looked down. "...and put an end to her life."

"W-Why didn't you...?" Elt tried to ask a question.

"...stop her? For what?" Crown talked back. "There was nothing for her. Only two friends; friends that she would never meet again. Besides..."

The Ghost turned his sight towards his companion. The two of them seemed to have a silent conversation with each other before it was ended with her nod. With that, Crown disappeared, leaving the three of them alone.

"I..." Francisca spoke up. "I didn't remember why I ended my first life nor whether there was indeed nothing for me..."

Suddenly, Wilmarina dashed towards the former princess and hugged her. The latter was about to ask when she heard the former started to cry.

"I am sorry... I am sorry..." The hero let the words out of her mouth. "I should... I should've..."

"It's... It's..." Not knowing what to do, the Hunter mouthed "help" towards Elt and Sasha.

"I can't...I can't even... What kind of hero...am I...?"

* * *

Paula watched as the Guardian in front of them showed the heroes of Lescatie several types of firearm that they possessed. The blue-skinned woman gave the finishing touch by taking out a gun from her holster and put it on the table.

"So, any question?" She asked.

"I have one." Parshe raised her hand. "_What _are you exactly?"

"Parshe!" Vermut scolded her. "Be polite!"

"It's alright." The Guardian replied. "First off, my name is Eva and I am an Awoken."

"Awoken?" Eba commented. "Awoken...from what?"

"The origin of the Awoken is not something that I am privy about." Eva shrugged. "In case you're wondering, the less human-like automatons are called Exo."

"A more important question." Olivier stated. "What is the purpose of showing us your weapons?"

"As you know, the main objective is to evacuate as many people as we can." She began to explain. "Problem is, they have no reason to trust us. We're basically unknown. The fact that some of us would be Mamono doesn't help either."

As if on cue, a Succubus entered the room, stating that she wanted to speak with Eva for a minute or two.

"I have been fighting Succubus for years and this is the first time I see one that's covered from neck to toe, leaving only her head exposed." Lucian commented. "Wings and tail too, I suppose."

The other heroes voiced their agreement as the two Guardians finished their conversation and the Succubus left the room.

"Basically, your job is to convince the people of Lescatie that we're on their side. All of you are well-known so I am sure a little bit of order will be enough to cause them to fall in line." The Awoken continued the conversation.

"I can see your point." Olivier replied as she put her hand on her chin. "The weapons...?"

"Ah, right. Considering your...condition, close-range fight would be almost suicidal. Don't want to risk any of you turning into a Succubus or something, right?"

"I suppose..." Vermut sighed before picking up an auto rifle. "Only two of us have experience in using something like this though. Three if you count Alameria who's currently incapacitated."

"Well..." Eva picked up her hand cannon and twirled it. "...that's just more reason for you to start training now, isn't it?"

* * *

While she was still crying, Wilmarina had calmed down compared to earlier. Her eyes still formed tears albeit not as much as before. Currently she was sitting on a bed along with Elt and Francisca.

"You're OK now?" He asked his childhood friend.

"Y-Yeah..." She replied, wiping the tears on her eyes. "I am sorry...for everything..."

"It's not your fault." He picked up a tissue and cleaned her face. "It never is..."

"Um, if it's fine with both of you..." Francisca spoke up. "...I need to take my leave. You know, preparation and all of that?"

"O-Of course." Elt said and nodded his head, followed by Wilmarina doing the same.

The Hunter nodded her head in return and stood up before walking towards the door. As she opened the door, a voice stopped her from venturing outside.

"Wait!"

She turned around, seeing the hero extending her hand towards her.

"P-Promise...that you will come back..." She asked weakly.

"No need to ask the obvious." That was the reply.

She closed the door and walked away from the room. As she went through a corridor, Crown appeared beside her.

"You know, those two..." He said, referring to his companion's childhood friends.

"I can't think of anything more obvious than that." She gave her comment. "Unfortunately, I don't think their relationship would be that easy."

"Yeah..."

As if on cue, Francisca and her Ghost met a certain elf on their way to their destination.

"Ah, Your...I mean...um..." The elf, Primera, tried to figure out what to said.

Usually, she would give her superiors and those with higher social status than her a superficial respect. Considering the former princess' history, however, doing that would be something that was too far, the elf decided. Thus, she had no idea on how to proceed.

"Just call me Francisca." The Hunter stated as she waved her hand. "It's easier for both of us."

"I guess so." Primera nodded her head. "So, it's now, huh?"

"Either today or tomorrow, depending on when the rest of the invasion force arrived." She turned her attention towards the bow that the elf carried. "Huh, that's an interesting bow."

"Isn't it?" The archer showed the bow with pride. "This thing is wonderful! I only need to use a little bit of my strength and it could fire an arrow with a force greater than when I used my old bow."

"That's the point of compound bow; using less strength to gain greater result." Crown commented.

"Yeah, though unfortunately, I have to use different arrows since my wooden ones tend to break due to the force." Primera informed as she showed them one of the new arrows; made from carbon fiber.

Suddenly, the Ghost emitted a high-pitched sound. He flew to his companion's hand so that she knew the reason for the sound. Once she found out about it, her eyes widened.

"It's time."

* * *

The last peaceful day had finally passed.

Today would be the date that would live in infamy for many people.

* * *

Inside the orphanage, Sasha and Primera were preparing themselves for the upcoming battle.

The building was now empty with only two of them left. The children and the staffs had all been evacuated first by the Guardians. The same thing had also been done on the nun's secret orphanage.

She couldn't help but feel worried about the Mamono children. Just as expected, they became bedridden not long after arriving on the base, just like Alameria the Dhampir hero. Same thing also happened to Maia since she was a Dhampir as well.

"Hey!" Sasha looked at Primera, who called her. "You're alright there?"

"Y-Yeah..." She weakly replied. "I am just worried..."

"I can understand. But you need to put that aside for now, OK?" The elf advised as she tested her bow. "Right now, we need to focus on surviving."

"Of course."

* * *

The Guardians and heroes looked at the footage depicting the movements of the Demon Army. Every land that they passed through was corrupted in a matter of minutes; the day turned into the night that would engulf the region for eternity.

"Guardians, heroes..." Lord Shaxx spoke up as the footage ended. "Today, the forces of Darkness are about to descend on a settlement of humanity. It is with heavy heart that I must tell you that we will be unable to save all of them."

Murmuring occurred between them. While they already knew that even the best scenario would still result in a bittersweet victory, it was still something that they hoped could somehow avoided.

Of course, reality said otherwise.

"Remember, we're not here to eradicate our enemy. We're here to rescue the people of Lescatie." Shaxx reminded them. "Heroes, it is not my lack of confidence in your ability but rather the trust that you possess with the citizens that you will not be at the frontline."

"Understood." Wilmarina agreed.

"Guardians, remember that our existence is not known by the locals except select few. They are likely to react with hostility." The Titan look at a certain group of Guardians. "Especially you."

"It will be alright." Rani said, representing the group. "Death is nothing for us after all."

"Good. Now, let us go and descend into the battle, one which we shall return in glory!"

The excited cheers were the reply that he received.

* * *

"Tudor. Ethan." Receiving no answer, Merse said the name again, louder. "Tudor! Ethan!"

Still not receiving an answer, the knight-captain put down the list and looked around. Her subordinates – Elt's squadmates – were also looking around as well. While the hero was not happy at his lack of presence, she also became worried; he was not one to slack off. Which meant something was preventing him from arriving.

"Maybe he's sick?" One of the soldiers suggested.

"Nah, I saw him yesterday and he was fine."

"Then..."

_DONG DONG _

Their thoughts were interrupted by the tolls of the bell. The sound was followed by another bell. Then another one. There was only one reason that so many bells were being tolled at the same time.

A warning of an invasion.

"To the armory!" Merse shouted the order. "Now!"

Without further ado, the squad went to the armory to pick up their armors and weapons. After getting them, they went to the street to see the civilians running in one direction and the soldiers to the opposite one. They were only able to take several steps when they encountered the man that they had been looking for.

"Elt!"

* * *

"Alright, this is where the perimeter will be established." Francisca told her childhood friends. "We must hold this position."

"R-Right." Wilmarina replied, voice stuttering. "N-No monster p-pass this place. Hold it a-and..."

"Mari, are you alright?" Elt asked her, worried.

"I am!" She replied, louder than necessary. "I can do this! I-I am not a..."

"Elt!"

The two of them immediately turned around and saw Elt's superior, one Merse Dascaros, walking towards. Her face indicated that she was not in a good mood.

"Where the hell have you been?! You're not there when..." She was just about to scold him when the knight noticed the fellow hero. "Lady Noscrim."

"Captain Dascaros." Wilmarina replied.

"Hmm..." Merse put her hand on her chin. "Do you have...?"

"Monsters! Up above!"

Everyone turned their attention towards Francisca, who pointed at the three Black Harpies that landed on the rooftop, terrifying the already-scared citizens even more. Before anyone could do anything else, the Hunter created the Golden Gun. With the three solar bullets, she hit each of the Harpy with one, causing them to explode.

"Captain Dascaros, I presume?" Francisca said to the speechless knight.

"Y-Yes. Who...?" Merse's eyes became wide upon recognizing the person that she was talking to. "Your..."

"Save it." She stopped her. "I need your squad to set up a defense line around this area! Gather as many men as you can!"

"W-What? Why? We should be heading towards the gate..."

"The gates have fallen."

Silence fell upon the soldiers when they heard the news. Elt and Wilmarina decided to let Francisca handle the situation, choosing instead to help the recently-arriving Guardians.

"Captain, I need you do to what I say, because right now..." The Hunter unholstered her hand cannon. "...we're you're only hope of surviving."

* * *

**And it's done. **

**If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me. **

**Review, please!**


	9. Fall from High

**Fall from High**

Things had literally gone out of control.

It was something that Lucella had noticed not long after the news of the deaths of their infiltrators reached the main camp. Upon hearing it, Druella, the Fourth Princess of Royal Makai, immediately ordered the invasion to proceed to its next phase; the very invasion itself.

Along the way, they encountered the corpses of their scouts. The march was stopped so that they could give them a proper burial. However, the number of the corpses didn't match the number of scouts that they sent, giving hope to some that there were survivors that managed to escape.

The Baphomet later found out that it was simply because their bodies disintegrated to the point of not even ashes left.

Anyway, it went smoothly at first. They managed to pass through the gates of the capital city. The guards stationed there and the people leaving nearby were soon lost in the haze of lust and joy. After that, they marched to the inner part of the city...

...which was when things went really, _really _wrong.

Their advance was stopped by a group of strange warriors, wearing colorful armor that no one had ever seen, armed with firearms that could fire more than one shot at a moment. Lucella immediately recognized them; they were the same warriors that killed almost every adult female of an Amazoness tribe.

Much to her horror, an Amazoness was not the only Mamono among the warriors.

All of them were covered from head to toe but the Mamono warriors had some parts of their bodies shown. She saw a warrior with a pair of horns, wings, and a tail – a Succubus – flew around while picking her opponent one after another with her firearm. She saw another warrior dressed like a knight with burning tail – a Salamander – fighting a squad of Dullahan with nothing but her fist. And it was enough.

"Mama Lucella! Mama!" The Baphomet stopped thinking and turned around, seeing a Witch approaching her. "What should we do?! Everyone is getting killed left and right!"

"I..." For the first time, she had no idea on what to do. This was something that she never experienced during her years of serving Lady Druella. "Order our Sabbath to retreat! We need to know more about the situation!"

The Witch nodded her head and walked away. Lucella looked at her with an expression full of pain. Just like many Mamono that participate in this invasion, her daughter in all but blood wished to be able to find a husband.

She could only hope that she survived the battle to fulfill it.

* * *

"Oh, come on. Why do we have to use the sewer? It's so dirty!"

"Because we're trying to flank them, fool!"

Beneath the city, several Kunoichi were using the sewer in order to flank the defenders. After witnessing how the advancing Mamono were simply cut down by rain of bullets and explosion, they decided to use a different way to approach their targets.

However, their movement had been anticipated.

Suddenly, without any warning, three Guardians emerged from the dark and activated their Supers; a Dawnblade Warlock, a Sentinel Titan, and an Arcstrider Hunter. The Kunoichi immediately took out their weapons. While they couldn't see the faces of their opponents, they knew that the trio promised them a world of pain.

And a world of pain they were given.

* * *

"Come on, everyone! Over here!"

Lucian could only hope that her shout was heard by the running citizens in spite of the loud noises created by the guns and explosions. She diverted her attention towards an approaching Black Harpy. She aimed her pulse rifle and – after several shots – managed to hit her, causing the monster to crashed into the street hard.

She looked around and couldn't help but feel jealous on how easy the Guardians dispatched the monster invaders. Monsters were, in general, better than humans whether its physically or magically. Even heroes could face difficulty against them. Thus, they were trained from the moment of childhood and had their skills honed through rigorous training as often as possible. And that was still no guarantee of victory.

The Guardians? They only need to pull the trigger of their weapons. Or throw a grenade or two. Or use their ability, especially the "Super." It was...just so unfair. They made killing monsters look like a child-play. Heck, she even saw one of them doing it while dancing!

"Why aren't we blessed like them...?" Lucian commented as she looked at the sky.

* * *

Rozanga looked with distaste at the scenery below her.

What was supposed to be an overnight transformation of an Order nation into a Demon Realm had turned into what could only be described as bloodbath. For every Mamono that managed to acquire a husband, two, three, or even four were slaughtered by the defending forces.

A part of her wondered why the extremists kept insisting on taking over the nation when it was clear that death and destruction would be the only thing that they would acquire in the current state of the situation.

Then again, she didn't care about them at all. The only reason a Dragon like her was here was to escort the Dragon Zombies that the Fourth Princess hired, for the lack of better word. There had been an increase of the undead population in Dragonia and it caused quite a problem since they scared of potential visitors.

She hoped that they would find a husband in Lescatie and stayed there. Or didn't return to Dragonia due to one reason or another. She disliked the latter happening but goddamn if seeing her idiot kin didn't make her blood boil.

"Alright. We're here." She stated to the Dragon Zombies. "Go and find a husband or something. I don't care."

The undead dragons simply let out a lecherous laugh before flying to many directions. Not even five minutes later, two of them were already killed. One by what appeared to be a rocket and another by a flying magician...

Wait, wasn't that a Succubus?

Rozanga had heard about it. Who didn't? The tales about Mamono turning their back on everything that they stood for were not something one could just ignore. The Dragon couldn't help but wonder on what cause them to...

"Hey, you!"

She stopped her thought and turned her head towards the one who yelled. She saw a knight wearing a silver-and-gold armor with wolf motif adorning it carrying a double-headed axe. Rozanga squinted her eyes, curious at the man.

"You have my attention, human." She declared. "Speak but ensure you know you better!"

"I am Lord Saladin Forge. A dragon slayer." The knight declared in return as he pointed at her. "I challenge you to a duel to the death!"

"Oh? Such arrogance coming from such a puny being." Rozanga let out a low laugh.

"You are not the first dragon slain by my hands." Saladin stated. "Assume your true form, dragon, or you will stand no chance against me!"

"Hmph, do you even know what you just ask? You will be signing your death warrant, fool!"

"I see..." He nodded his head before turning around and walked away. "Forgive my mistake, then."

The Dragon was taken aback by the response. Her eyes widened and she looked dumbfounded. That...was not the reaction that she expected.

"What are you talking about?" She asked the knight.

"I assume that you're a Dragon merely from your scales and wings." Saladin stated. "After talking with you, I guess you're just a Lizardman or something who somehow gained a pair of wings. That explained why you don't want to use your true form; you don't have one in the first place. Which could..."

"Are. You. Trying. To. Say..." Rozanga was slowly consumed by fury. "THAT I AM A PHONY?!"

"Yes." He replied bluntly. "I can understand why you want to become one. After all, dragons..."

"You're still mocking me?! I'll show you what happen to insolent insect such as you!"

Slowly, she was losing her human form and changed into a more monstrous form. Her entire body was covered in scales. She now stood on all four of her limbs. Her wings expanded and her tail became taller.

As all of this happened, Saladin was trying his best not to be excited like a school kid who found out that the cafeteria was serving his favorite lunch. He had always thought that fighting a dragon would only be one-in-a-lifetime chance.

Fortunately, he was proven wrong.

* * *

"Get back here, trai...!"

_BANG _

After shooting the last bullet, Rani reloaded her hand cannon without decreasing her speed even a little. She then put a Tripmine Grenade on the wall of a house. When her chasers passed through the laser, it exploded.

"You know," Her Ghost spoke up. "I am sure I have told you that facing them alone is a bad idea."

"Isn't our leader the master of making bad ideas good ones?" The Hunter retorted.

"Well, yeah, but you're not Cayde."

Currently, she was being chased by a group of Amazonesses. All of them immediately turned their attention towards her, abandoning any attempt of getting a mate, in order to fight her. Apparently, she had become infamous among them, possessing the titles of "Kin-Killer," "Backstabber," and – not as glamorous in her opinion - "Traitor."

Also, it appeared that she had done something that caused some of them to wanting to take her life; an antithesis on how Mamono usually acted.

Perhaps it has something to do with trails of bodies that she left behind.

Rani stopped running upon noticing that several of the Amazonesses had flanked her and was now coming from the front. She looked back and saw that there were still chasers on her rear. She performed a Double Jump and escaped to the rooftop while not forgetting to fire her hand cannon, killing two Amazonesses.

Above, she saw three Succubi flying towards her. The Hunter took out two of them with her gun – all headshot - and the last one with a throwing knife. After jumping from one rooftop to another, she looked down, finding three Dullahans below.

She jumped, managing to land on one of them. The rest, surprised at the sudden change of their situation, was unprepared; with two shots, one hitting the chest while another the head, Rani took out the remaining Dullahan.

"Sorry." She stated to the Dullahan under her foot. "Not sorry."

Rani walked away from the corpses, waiting for _them _to appeared. She didn't need to wait for long; from one of the alleys, the Amazonesses emerged.

"Over the...!"

_BANG _

"Well, here we go again, I suppose." The Hunter commented as she, once again, ran away.

* * *

"Elt, on your right!"

The boy turned his head to the right, seeing a Hellhound approaching his position. He aimed his sidearm and pulled the trigger. After several shots, the monster stopped moving and fell, no longer breathing.

Trying to control his breath, Elt took several steps back in order to rest a bit. As he picked up a canteen and drank the water inside, he looked at the Guardians, especially Francisca.

He had to admit that he was amazed at how quickly her change was; from a sickly young girl who could barely move on her bed to a fearsome fighter that could dispatch monsters left and right. She had followed the footsteps of her sisters and ancestors. Perhaps becoming even better than them.

"_Definitely better." _Elt thought as he saw the Hunter used the Golden Gun.

He turned his attention towards Wilmarina, who was currently guiding a group of civilians towards one of several transmat zones that have been established. While some were afraid upon seeing people disappearing, the hero managed to calm them down by claiming that it was a new teleportation spell.

Well, it was not a spell but a teleportation indeed.

"Ah, shit." Elt, upon hearing her cursing, turned his attention back to Francisca. "Dark Matter."

His heart almost stopped beating. He started to look around and managed to find the monster. Floating around the buildings, a naked woman riding what appeared to be a big black bubble was capturing people left and right with tentacles coming from said bubble. He only knew a bit about the race but it was enough for him to know how dire the situation was.

"Kyle, Arnhem, with me!" The former princess ordered. "The rest of you, hold this place!"

The Hunter departed from the group, followed by a Titan and another Hunter. Elt, feeling the presence of someone running towards him, looked to his side and saw Wilmarina now standing beside him. Both of them stared at each other in the eyes before he put his hand on her shoulder.

"I am sure she can handle it." He assured his friend. "She's no longer the sick princess that we know of."

"I-I know..." She replied, panic rising inside her. "B-But...she had...we can't just..."

"Mari, look at me!" He now grabbed both of her shoulders. "She _will _be fine. I am worried about Franny as well but we should trust her and the Guardians, OK?"

Despite her hesitation, Wilmarina nodded her head.

"Hey, what is happening here?!"

"Oh, dear." A Warlock commented. "Order soldiers incoming. And they don't look happy."

Elt and Wilmarina turned their attention to the soldiers. They were led by a woman with blue beret. From her face alone, they knew that she wasn't happy in the slightest about the situation.

It didn't take a genius to guess the reason.

"I have seen you before." Wilmarina stated as she walked closer. "Eristia Vitral, isn't it?"

"Indeed, Wilmarina Noscrim." The woman with blue beret, Eristia, replied as she folded her arms.

"I take it that the situation in the city is bad."

"Oh, what gives it away?" Her voice was full of sarcasm. "The entire battle has become confusing! There are these people with colorful gears and strange powers that – as far as I can tell – are on our side. The thing is, some of them are monsters. In fact, just an hour ago, I was saved from a Succubus by a Succubus of all being!"

The rant was followed by her grumbling. All that Wilmarina could offer was a humorless laugh.

"Zombie Dragon!"

Hearing the warning, everyone looked upward, seeing the flying creature approaching their position. Before anyone could fire at her, a solar bullet flew towards the undead creature, disintegrating her into ashes. Few moments later, Francisca and her partners returned.

"P-Princess?!" Eristia exclaimed, not expecting to see the disappearing royalty. "What are you..."

"There's not even time to explain why there's no time to explain." The former princess said immediately. "Escort as many civilian as you can to the evacuation points. That's an order from your princess, soldier."

"Y-Your Highness, His Majesty has ordered us to..."

"That's. An. Order." She took a step closer. "Am I understood?"

"...Of course."

Without further ado, Eristia followed the order along with her soldiers. Witnessing the event, Elt and Wilmarina couldn't help but amazed on how much their friend had changed.

"Wow. That was..." He made a comment. "First, Merse. And then her."

"A small trick; if you act as if you have an authority, then many will believe that you have one." Francisca stated. "They call it a 'fire drill' or something."

Their conversation was interrupted by the roar of a dragon. Looking upward, they saw the giant lizard flew around the city. If their eyes didn't deceive them, there appeared to be something humanoid hanging on its neck.

As the dragon flew away, some of the Guardians sighed as they knew exactly who was the person on the dragon.

* * *

"Sorry, girls. Nobody's here want to be resurrected. Those that do, already did."

After saying that, the Titan fired a rocket and caused a group of Zombies to became nothing more but chunks of flesh and bones. He then switched to a machine gun and fired upon the approaching undead monsters.

Besides evacuating the civilians, there was also the task of preventing the invading monsters from reviving the deceased people and adding them to their numbers. Olivier was part of one of the groups tasked to protect the graveyard.

It was even more important as it was the final resting place of some of the heroes of Lescatie.

The musketeer avoided a spell from a Lich and was about to retaliate when Paula shot her first. As she reloaded her hand cannon, given by the Guardians, Olivier gave her a protection from the monsters using a scout rifle.

"You're alright, Paula?" She asked.

"I'll manage." The brunette replied. "You know, just saying, but do you feel a bit...inferior, in all of this?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Like, fighting monsters is a hard job. That's why it is left to us heroes and many of us received a blessing and trained from a very young age, sometimes even childhood." Paula gestured at their newest allies. "Yet these people..."

Olivier understood what her fellow musketeer was saying. Seeing the Guardians in action can be quite...discouraging, for the lack of better word. They made everything seemed to trivial. The banters that they had during the fight didn't help in the slightest.

"Hey, ladies, I have a suggestion. What about investing more in armor department?"

"Can you exchange 'husband' with 'brain?' It will be like in my zombie movies."

"Anyone know what's for lunch today?"

It was very infuriating on how relaxed and happy-go-lucky they were. As if they were looking at the weather rather than fighting for their very lives. To make matters worse, despite all of that, they gave a better result compared to the soldiers and heroes of Lescatie. Thus, scolding them was a baseless act.

_ROOOOOAAAAAR_

Suddenly, without warning, a roar came out of nowhere. It was so sudden that all side stop their fighting and looked up towards the sky. Just then, a dragon flew above them and let out a long breath of fire to the people below.

As expected, everyone tried their best to avoid the fire but many were caught by it. The Guardians that got killed were resurrected not long after. The defenders, seeing the opportunity, used the chance to push back the invading monsters as their line broke apart.

"Push forward, Guardians! We got them on the rope!" A Titan shouted as he created a warhammer from fire and charging in.

* * *

Lydia was a Witch that belonged to the Medical Sabbath led by Dr. Grellia Little, responsible for the improvement of healing, medicine, anything that could cure illness and treat wound. She, along with other members, was tasked as the healers of Druella's army. For most of the part, they had nothing much to do due to the Lilim's leadership resulted in little to no casualty from both the Mamono and the Order.

Today, however, was the complete opposite.

"Listen, just stay here, try to keep calm, and don't move too much! Understand?" Lydia stated sternly.

The soldier that she had just treat, a Dullahan, nodded her had before wincing in pain as she pressed her bandaged wound. The Witch stood up and immediately ran, trying to find another person that got wounded.

It was a dangerous journey. She must ensure that she was as small as possible or else she might get shot by the human soldiers. She must also avoid an explosive or spell that they sent to her direction.

Lydia stopped running when she saw a Harpy crashed into a building and fell to the road. She immediately approached the Mamono, only to realize that there was nothing she could do upon checking the pulse.

Once more, she ran around the frontline, looking for those that were wounded during the battle. It was harder than it looked as more often than not, she encountered either those that were still healthy enough or dead bodies.

"Help! Someone, please help!"

Lydia stopped and turned her head towards the one who yelled. Upon seeing a Devil covered in bandages, she knew the one who did it. The Witch immediately ran towards the Mamono, already preparing for any kind of wound and illness.

"I am here." She said. "What's the situation?"

"Come inside!" The Devil said, heading towards a bar. "Some of them are dying!"

When the two of them stepped into the building, Lydia could smell the stench of death. Some of the people that lie on the floor covered entirely by a white sheet, indicating that they were no longer among the living. Those that were still alive were unable to keep their voices down, their caretakers overwhelmed by the task on their hands.

After recovering from the shock due to how many were injured, the Witch immediately went to work, approaching the one that was close to dying.

It would be a long day until all of this was over.

* * *

The Zombie Dragon could only let out a weak groan – likely pleading for mercy – before a Titan stomped her head, making it explode like watermelon.

Primera let out her tongue and muttered "Yuck" in disgust before drawing her bow and shot an arrow, hitting a Werewolf in the distance. Proudly smiling at her latest shot, the elf looked at her surrounding as her group guarded the transmat zone.

"Hey, you! Get over here!"

"E-Eh? I-I-Is there s-something w-wrong, sir..."

_BANG_

"Well, there goes another one." The archer commented as she watched a Warlock tossed away a body of recently-deceased monster.

With so many people being evacuated, some of the monsters tried to blend in among the civilians and infiltrated the base. However, the Ghosts of the Guardians were more than capable of detecting the presence of Demonic Energy and every infiltrator was spotted before they could reach the transmat zone.

Even if they somehow managed to pass through them, those monsters would find themselves losing their energy and became as weak as a baby. Some Warlocks had theorized that it had something to do with the fact that the base was located on the Moon.

"_Man, a base on the freaking Moon._" Primera thought to herself. "_A perfect place for a hidden base. Especially since nobody can reach it._"

Speaking about unreachable and hidden, she remembered that the evacuation to the Moon was only the first step. The next was evacuating them from the Moon base to the Last City, located at a whole different whole, one called Earth, the birthplace of humanity.

She was not exactly a devoted follower of the Chief God but even she had to admit that many of the revelations that the Guardians gave to them turned her perspective upside down. The elf couldn't help but wonder how many truth, how many falsehood that existed in the teaching of the Order.

"Are you alright, Primera?"

"Eh?" The elf turned her head and saw Sasha approaching her. "Oh, nothing. Just have some thought in my mind."

The nun nodded her head before looking upward, causing the archer to do the same. Both of them saw a Harpy flying, who was immediately shot down by Sasha with a shotgun.

"You know, just a morbid curiosity..." Primera spoke up as they watched the monster fell from the sky. "...is that monster a pure one or one of the citizens that got transformed? There's also the lack of our allies turning against us. Not that I am complaining but still..."

"Who said there isn't?" Sasha retorted. "I saw some people that I recognized. For once, I am glad with the Guardians tendency of 'shoot first and second with ask maybe never.' I don't think I would like the conversation."

"Jeez, sorry to hear that..."

_ROOOAAAR_

Shocked by the sudden roar, the two women looked upwards, followed by others, whether they were humans or monsters. Above the sky, a dragon – appearing not as a female human like other monsters but instead as its original giant winged-lizard - was flying around, spouting fire all over the city.

Despite its fearsome appearance, it was also clear that the creature was not in its best condition. Scorched wounds were visible upon the scales. Its roar was mighty yet also hoarse. And most of all, it was slowly but steadily closing to the ground.

"It's falling." The elf commented.

"If it continues like this, it will fall..." With her index finger, the nun pointed at the dragon before slowly pointing towards the location where it would land. "...oh."

Upon finding herself pointing at the royal palace, Sasha also noticed that the palace was not in a good condition. Tentacles from whatever monster that was in the building were surrounding it. There were at least half a dozen Dark Matters around the place, along with other monsters.

"Well, there goes the royal family." The elf once again commenting; this time her voice was full of snark. "Not much of a lose, to be honest."

As if to further emphasize the point, the dragon finally crashed.

* * *

"That's a close one..."

As she rose from the floor, Druella – Fourth Princess of Royal Makai – looked at the damage that the dragon created before focusing at the Mamono itself. She didn't crash into the palace; she went _through _the palace and kept going until crashing at the other side of the city.

If she had to be honest, it was very likely that the dragon was no longer within the city itself.

While watching where the flying giant crashed, the Lilim also saw the current situation in the city. There was no sound of happiness, no voice of joy. Unlike her previous campaigns, the air was filled with smoke and blood.

She wondered when did things went wrong. Her methods weren't exactly revolutionary or even brilliant, but as they said, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." She had tainted the food with Demonic Energy so that only a little bit of nudge was needed to convince the humans to switch side. She had observed the heroes of Lescatie to find out about their weakness.

"Must be the men-in-colorful-armor..." She muttered.

Druella had heard rumors about them. People wearing colorful armor, going from one place to another, spreading chaos and destruction wherever they go. Compared to the Order heroes, they were not only more powerful but also remorseless. She wondered if they were the type of people that her father and mother warned her about; people that simply incapable of feeling regret or empathy, people that find joy in the suffering of others.

"Lady Druella! Are you alright?"

The Lilim stopped her thought as she turned her attention towards the approaching group of Mamono knights; her own personal guards.

"Don't worry about me." She told them. "What's the status outside?"

"Not good. More than half of the city was under our control but we suffer heavy casualties. All attempt to take the remaining area have been repelled so far." A Dullahan reported to her. "Speaking of which, we manage to confirm that some Mamono have indeed act more like the monsters of old, currently fighting our forces along with the remaining humans."

The Lilim gritted her teeth upon hearing that. Other rumors that she had heard about was how some Mamono acted like how they were during the era before her mother's reign. It was not without a precedent; her mother and father had to convince the Tentacle Forests to stop killing people through a very violent method of burning most of them down.

It still left the question of why they decided to turn back. Did her mother's influence wane for some reason? Could it be due to some outside factor, like the Chief God deciding to mess up with the Cycle system?

In any case, she managed to confirm the rumors. After this, she needed to go back to Royal Makai and...

_KABOOOM_

Her eyes became wide and panic started to spread among her guards. Ignoring their cries, Druella immediately flew out through the hole created by the crashed to find the source of the sound. Her eyes widened upon the sight, cold sweats started to form on her forehead.

_KABOOOM _

She already knew that the source of the sound was none other than an explosion. What caught her by surprise was the sheer size of the explosion. It was at least a hundred meters in height and destroyed an area as wide as a city block. There was not only one or even two explosions, there were three, four, and slowly increasing.

"What...in the world...?"

* * *

"...and this is the last of our gift!"

Mary watched as the pair of Guardians that handle the bomb waved towards it before said bomb was transmated into Lescatie; as they said, a final gift for the monster invaders. Bomb that could take out an entire city block.

It would take a lot of time and resource for the city to be rebuilt, especially with the infamous laziness of the monsters. Those were time and resource that they could use to expand the Demon Realm. Then there was how many of their personnel that got killed during the invasion.

All in all, the monsters might manage to take over one of the strongest human nations on the planet but had suffered horrendous casualty in doing so, in terms of material and manpower.

Deciding that she basically had nothing else to do, the Titan headed towards the cafeteria, the same destination that most Guardians headed to after returning from the now-fallen city. When she entered the room, she saw that many of them were already grabbing food and drink in celebration.

One of the interesting sights was several Guardians surrounding Lord Saladin as the old Titan told them about his exploit back there.

"...the fire of the beast was hot beyond imagination. Not even steel could withstand the heat. Yet I did not falter! Fear was not even something that I..."

Mary stopped listening to the tale when her eyes saw them; the local soldiers and heroes of Lescatie that joined them in the battle. The area of the cafeteria that they occupied were more...somber compared to the rest of the room. She supposed that it made sense; they had just lost the place that they called home after all.

She wondered how she and others would react if they lost the Last City.

The Titan went into the kitchen and approached a refrigerator. After waiting for a Warlock to walked away with a bucket of ice cream, she opened it and took out a crate full of bottles of beer. Not forgetting to pick the bottle opener, she exited the kitchen and went towards the table that they occupied.

"I take it none of you are unfamiliar with beer?" Mary stated as she put down the crate. "Or alcohol in general?"

The answers that she got was "Yep," "I would like one," "It's normal for me," and something along those line. Nodding her head, she picked up a bottle and opened it before offering it. It was taken by one Merse Dascaros. The Titan then shared the rest of the bottles.

"Damn, the chill really hits the throat." The one-eyed heroine commented after taking a big gulp. "So, I take it this whole thing is normal for you guys?"

"Not exactly." Mary replied as she handed out the last bottle. "We usually would gather around, have our Ghosts play some awesome music, and perform a silly dance or two."

Many of them stopped the drinking and focused their eyes on the Titan, wondering if she was jesting. While they couldn't see her face due to her helmet, considering how she simply laughed a little after stating that, as if remembering something funny in the past, they decided that she was likely serious.

"Anyway, there are many other types of food and drink." She told them as she put the crate down to the floor. "Make yourself comfortable. It's been a long day."

With that, the Titan walked away, leaving the now-refugees of Lescatie. For a while, nobody spoke anything; everyone just remained silent and enjoyed the cold beer. Then, one of them raised his bottle. Soon, it was followed by others – one by one – until all of them raised their bottles.

A toast was performed, in an honor of their lost home. For all the problems that they suffered, Lescatie remained their home; one that they would not forget.

* * *

**And it's finally done. **

**If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me. **

**Review, please!**


End file.
